Forevery by your side
by Sendo Sheng
Summary: Xiang and Mei's life as friends has always been just that but things start to change as they begin to help others fall in love. Will their friendship last or will it become something entirely different?
1. Chapter 1 Jasmine

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Hetalia. All rights go to Hidekaz Himaruya

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Ch. 1 Jasmine

The sun shined brightly as it shined outside the windows. Its position signaling that the end of the day was approaching. Yet class still continued. Xiang sighed. Wondering why does school always had to go on for this long. Everyone stared at the chalk board as the teacher wrote our assignment down. He began writing it when a note landed on top of his desk. Xiang carefully sneaked the piece of paper under his desk and opened it:

_Xiang! I'm so bored DX_

He lifted his head and turned to the right. There she sat was his friend, Mei. She had her head face down on the desk with her long brown hair covering face. Xiang quickly scribbled a response on the note and threw it back to Mei as the teacher turned to the board. She excitedly took the note and opened it. Her giddy face suddenly turned to a pout and she wrote back.

_Xiang! I'm so bored DX_

_ Just deal with it._

_ Xiang you're so mean! _

Just as he was about the respond, the bell rang and everyone got up from their seat. He sighed yet again and placed the note into his pocket. Suddenly and hand slammed down onto the desk and he looked up to see Mei.

"Xiang you jerk! Why didn't you play along with me."

"Because, I was trying to write down the assignment."

"Excuses excuses. Let's just go already." She grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the seat and into the hallways.

"Mei, slow down."

"Come on, let's go do something before the day ends."

He silently agreed, knowing that it wouldn't really matter even if he did said no. Mei finally slowed down enough so that they were walking again but at that point, they were already a mile away from school.

"So where do you want to go," she asked.

"I don't know. You're the one who dragged me out here."

"Hmmm, let's go get some drinks then."

"Fine, let's go to the usual place."

"Fine, but you're going to pay," she said excitedly.

The two walked down the streets to their favorite shop, _the Pearl Blossom_. The entered and the scent of tea roamed the air. The shop was brightly lit and always held the nature of friendliness. The two walked and sat down at a table; setting their bags next to their chairs. The two often came to the shop to relax and do their work because of the calming atmosphere. Their old acquaintance, Mei's cousin, and owner of the shop walked up to the two and began to greet them.

"Mei, Xiang; nice to see you two again. Do you want the usual ~aru?" asked the long haired owner.

"That'll be fine Yao," answered Mei.

"Ok, that's two cups and a pot of jasmine tea right ~aru?"

The two nodded and Yao walked away to retrieve their tea. He quickly returned with the items and settled the plate onto the table then taking a seat next to the two.

"So how have you two been doing? I haven't seen you two as often ~aru."

"Oh, you know, school and all that stuff. The teachers keep giving us projects and a lot of tests so we've been preoccupied for most of the time."

"That's good. Studying is good for you two but don't forget to not over do anything ~aru."

"Right, as if I would."

Xiang mentally smiled, knowing Mei, she really would slack off until the last moment. "Xiang! What's with that look in your eye?" asked Mei. "I know you're laughing at me on the inside." Xiang's expression remained unchanged but he always wondered how Mei could tell what he was thinking even though he made sure to keep a completely emotionless face. He reached out for the tea pot and poured a cup for himself and Mei. He calmly held his cup to his lips and sipped.

"You two are always an interesting pair to be around ~aru," exclaimed Yao.

A sudden rush of cold air entered the shop and we turned to the door and saw a large man with light hair and his neck was wrapped around with a scarf. Yao's expression suddenly changed and he got up to meet with the man. Mei and Xiang watched curiously as they began to talk. Mei scooted her chair closer to Xiang and began to whisper, "What do you think they're talking about?"

"I don't know but Yao looks like he's…blushing?"

Yao and the man walked over to the two and he began an introduction, "You two, I want to introduce you to my friend, Ivan Braginski ~aru."

The large man named Ivan came up to the two and had a very eerie smile on his face. "It's nice to meet you two, da?"

"Umm, it's nice to meet you too," said Mei. "So how do you know Yao?"

"Oh, _Jao_, I came here one time and I visit often since then."

"Ehh I see. Is anything going on between you two?"

Ivan opened his mouth to say something but Yao quickly came in, "N-no, nothing ~aru." Ivan seemed disappointed by the response but he still held a smile on his face.

Mei looked suspiciously at the two before she returned to her tea. Suddenly an idea popped into her head and she told Yao and Ivan that they had to go and grabbed Xiang's arm and him out of the shop. After distancing themselves from the store, they stopped. Xiang asked what was wrong.

"Don't you think something's going on between those two?"

"Not really."

"Oh come on, you couldn't see the look on Yao's face?" Xiang remained silent. "It's obvious that he likes him."

"Oh, now that you mention it-"

"Exactly! Didn't you see the look on Ivan's face too? Yao must still be in denial."

"Where are you going with this?"

"Do I have to spell it out for you? We should get them together!"

"Mei, I don't think it's a good idea to mettle with other people's love life."

"Pssh, you don't know what you're talking about. If two people are attracted to each other, they should be together, don't you agree?"

"Right…"

"Then we should help them get together. Not only because they should be but as a favor to Yao for all the things he's done for us. Are you going to help?"

Xiang let out a sigh, "Fine."

"Alright, come by to my house tomorrow morning and we'll set up the plan."

Xiang was now intrigued, they rarely visited the others house and even if they did, they never meet anyone else there besides themselves. Perhaps he could meet the person Mei's been living with that would cause such a flamboyant yet sweet natured girl to act this way.

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Author's note:

Ok, this is my first fanfiction that I've written although I have written stories before, just not fics. If you didn't know or notice I'm only going to be using human names but only planned out for a couple of chapters so far but this will be long. Also if you didn't know Xiang is Hong Kong. I decided to use the Chinese version of his name and Mei is Taiwan. Their full names are Xiang Gang Kirkland and Mei Wang (or Wang Mei).


	2. Chapter 2 Chrysanthemum

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Hetalia. All rights go to Hidekaz Himaruya

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Ch. 2 Chrysanthemum

The morning was slightly chilly so Xiang decided to wear his long sleeved coat as he walked to Mei's house. It had been a long time since he lasted visited her home and every time he asked about her guardian she would always change the topic. He arrived to her front gate and rang the bell. After a few moments Mei opened the door and welcomed him in. They quickly ran up to her room and Mei already had paper laid out onto the floor with pencils and markers all around.

"I see you've been preparing."

"Hehe, yeah. I couldn't stop thinking about it and couldn't wait for the morning to come."

"So where is your cousin?"

"Oh he's out and won't be back till later so don't worry about it." Again she avoided the subject thought Xiang.

"So I was thinking that we somehow get them to confess to each other."

"I don't think it'll be that easy."

"I know that. That's why we're going to plan for something. Now start writing ideas down."

The two began scribbling down ideas and when they came up with something it would be heard by the other and thrown either in the possible pile or the trash bin. So far only one sheet laid in the possible pile and the trash bin was over half full.

"Gah, why is this so hard! Xiang what do we have?"

"_Lock them in the shop and play romantic music_. I don't think it's legal to keep someone in somewhere against their will."

"Relax, they'll be thanking us when it's all over. Anyway, since everything else sucked, let's focus on that one."

The two went into the afternoon, planning and developing their harebrained scheme. As much as Xiang disliked the fact that they were even doing such a thing, it would be useless to try and deny Mei. They finally finished their plan after several hours of planning (if you could call playing games and sleeping for over half of it planning anyway).

Suddenly the sound of a door opening and closing was heard downstairs and a yell was heard, "I'm home!" Mei rubbed her eyes as she woke up. After taking her hands out of her eyes she saw Xiang right in front of her and she flushed immediately but realized that he was just about to wake up. She quickly got up and realized what woke them up.

"Oh crap," whispered Mei. "He's back early."

"Who are you talking about?" Xiang said sheepishly.

"My cousin, he's back earlier than I thought. He doesn't know I have a friend over, much less a boy either."

"I'm sure he won't mind. I am your friend after all."

"You don't understand. He can be sensitive and a little over bearing when it comes to these things."

"Mei! Are you home?"

"Yeah! I'm just in my room," Mei yelled back.

"Why is there another pair of shoes at the door step? Do you have someone over?"

"Damn," whispered Mei. "Ehh yeah, we'll be down in a sec." Mei scrambled with all the paper and folded it and threw it into the desk draw. "Please be very polite when speaking okay?"

Xiang nodded in acceptance and she opened the door, "Come on."

Xiang got up and went with Mei. Her posture suddenly changed and she seemed…tense? They walked down the stairs and there waiting on the couch was a petit man. He had raven black hair and a calming aura. He wore a yukata so Xiang assumed he was Japanese.

"Welcome back Kiku-sama," announced Mei. Xiang was a bit surprised to hear this side of Mei. The flamboyant girl she knew was somehow replaced with this well mannered and polite girl.

"Ah Mei. Would you please introduce your friend there?"

"Yes. His name is Xiang."

"Hmm I see. Please have a seat." Mei nodded and Xiang followed her to a couch on the opposite side of Kiku. Xiang could somehow feel that he was about to enter a dangerous realm and the master is this man.

"So Mei, could you care to explain why this boy is here unannounced at my home?"

"We were working on a project and I forgot to tell you about it, I apologize."

"I see. So this is the same Xiang that you always talk about?"

"Umm, yes." Xiang could somehow feel the tension that was coming from Mei.

"So why is it have never met him before until now?"

"Every time I invite him over you're always at work," explained Mei. 'Also because I knew you'd act this way,' thought Mei.

"I see." Kiku turned his attention to Xiang now. Xiang heard a very soft sigh of relief from Mei but now Xiang could see why she was so tense. Kiku had the look that scanned for the slightest imperfections. A very fitting skill for the master of such a home thought Xiang.

"Let me properly introduce myself, my name is Honda Kiku. So Xiang, Mei's told me quite a lot about you. That you don't really talk much either."

Xiang nodded.

"So Xiang, who do you live with?" Mei suddenly became interested in the conversation. Just like how Xiang has never met or heard about Mei's guardian, she has never met or heard anything about Xiang's.

"I live with my step-brother," answered Xiang in his usual monotone voice.

"Your step-brother? May I ask what happened to your parents?"

Xiang stiffened, the subject of his parents was a very sensitive topic to him. "I'd prefer not to answer. It would bring up bad memories for me."

Kiku's gaze somehow softened to an apologetic stare, "Gomen, I didn't mean to bring up something that would cause you that much discomfort."

Mei stood up, "I'll go make some tea." She then walked off to the kitchen.

"It's perfectly understandable that you would ask that question."

Kiku pulled a small smile onto his face, "You're a fine young man. Please watch over Mei for me when I can't be around."

"I would even if you didn't ask me."

"I'm back. I made chrysanthemum." She set the pot down and began pouring it into a couple of cups. Xiang brought his cup close to himself and took a moment to enjoy the aroma before drinking.

"You made this well," complimented Kiku.

"Thank you." She sat back down next to Xiang and they spent their time enjoying some peace and quiet with tea.

Xiang turned his head to a clock and stood up, "I apologize. I have to go now."

"Mei, please show Xiang the way out." Mei nodded and led Xiang out of the house and to the gate.

"Woo, that went better than I thought," exclaimed Mei.

"What do you mean?"

"Well it's always so quiet at the house and I was really nervous that you wouldn't like Kiku or if he didn't like you."

"I think you were just overreacting."

"Shut up. I was worried okay?"

"Okay but just relax and be more relaxed next time."

"Right, so when do you think I can meet your brother now that you met my cousin?"

"Never."

"What? Why? I'm sure he can't be too bad."

"I'm not worried about him, I'm worried about you."

"Heh?"

"It's just that knowing you, it'd be embarrassing."

"Aww, you don't have to worry Xiang. I wouldn't do anything but act like myself."

"That's the embarrassing part."

"What! Is that supposed to mean something?"

"No nothing. Fine, come by tomorrow around noon."

Mei lightened up, "Yay!"

"Also I can't stress this enough but please make sure you eat your full until you come."

"Huh?"

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Author's Note:

So Xiang finally meets Kiku and there's a little hint at his feelings and background. Also you can guess what Xiang's warning is can't you? Well if you can't then go watch or read more Hetalia. Thank you to those who've read this and reviewed.


	3. Chapter 3 Scones?

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Hetalia. All rights go to Hidekaz Himaruya

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Ch. 3 Scones?

Sunday came and the time approached noon. The only problem here is, Mei overslept and now is rushing over to Xiang's place. Mei hurries over to Xiang's place and barely makes it to the old English styled home. Mei takes a moment to regain her breath and knocks on the door. A few footsteps are heard as it becomes closer and louder. Xiang opens the door and welcomes Mei in.

"Sorry I'm late," replies Mei. "I overslept and I didn't want to be late so I rushed over."

"It's okay, as long as you ate something before coming here."

"Ehh about that, I was panicking so much that I missed lunch." Xiang instantly became wide eyed and she tilted her head in confusion. "Xiang? What's wrong? I'm sure you could spare a few snacks right?"

"No Mei that's not the problem. I told you that you had to eat before coming here."

"I don't get you. So you just don't want to share your food with me?"

Xiang losing his cool, "No you don't get it. It's not about sharing food or anything, I'm afraid that you will eat here."

"Huh?"

"Xiang! Who's at the door?" called out someone.

"Dammit, he's coming. Quick, whatever you do, keep your stomach quiet."

"Huh? But I can't, I haven't eaten anything since dinner last night."

A man suddenly appeared in the hallway, with golden blond hair with emerald colored eyes. "Xiang? Would you care to introduce this person?"

Xiang turned around to face the bushy eyed Englishman, "Right, she's my friend Mei."

"Oh so you're having a friend over. Well come in," he offered.

Mei nodded and she took off her shoes and walked in. The three headed down the hallway and into a large living room full of classical old English furnishing. Xiang took a seat on the end of a couch wear a book was laying. He opened the book and hid his face in it. Mei moved over to Xiang and took a seat next to her stoic friend.

"You have a nice home," complimented Mei.

"Why thank you. Oh also you can call me Arthur."

Mei leaned over to see what Xiang was doing and saw that he was fiddling around with a firecracker, 'typical Xiang,' thought Mei. She returned to her seat and suddenly her stomach made a large growl. Mei held her stomach as she flushed from embarrassment.

"Have you not eaten?" asked Arthur.

"Umm yeah, I didn't have any lunch."

"Well lucky for you I'm baking some scones right now; I'll get you two a plate."

"Umm, thank you." Arthur smiled and walked off to the kitchen. Xiang placed his book down and turned to Mei.

"Run."

"Huh? What do you mean, I'm starving and he's offering food."

"No you don't get it he's a horrible cook."

"Oh come on Xiang. I'm sure it can't be too ba-" Mei turned her head toward the kitchen as the smell of fire and smoke invaded the room. The sounds of a fire extinguisher being used resounded through the house. The fire alarm was turned off and Arthur re-entered the room but this time with a plate that had charcoal on it?

"Sorry about the noise. A little fire just got out you know." Arthur placed two plates in front Mei and Xiang. "Please enjoy, I'll be right back after I clean up." Arthur then headed back to the kitchen.

Mei just stared at the piece of charcoal on the plate. She picked up the scone and tried to break a piece of it. She turned to Xiang's plate and saw that the scone was gone. She assumed that he ate it and moved it to her mouth. Xiang moved to stop her but it was too late, she took a bite out of the scone. Almost instantly, the small scone burned her taste buds in pure agony. She fought through the pain and swallowed the small bite down harshly. She began to pant as she saw that she only at about a sixth of the scone. Mei began to tear up and Xiang moved his hand and took the scone from her and regretfully ate the scone.

Arthur returned, looking a little exhausted, "Oh, you two finished. How was it?"

"I can honestly say that I've never tasted anything like it," replied Mei.

Before Arthur could reply, Xiang stood up and grabbed Mei's wrist, "We'll be going up to my room to do work." He then ran up stairs with Mei following behind.

They got up to Xiang's room and he quickly closed the door. Mei began to gag and Xiang rubbed hair back to calm her down. "That was so bad Xiang," cried Mei. "Now I know why you told me to eat before I came here."

Xiang moved Mei over to his bed and sat her down. He then moved to a side of his wall and lightly tapped it and it opened to reveal small refrigerator. He then grabbed something on top of it and walked over and handed her the box. She opened it curiously and her face brightened as she took out a moon cake.

"Eat, I can hear you stomach growling still." Mei flushed but she ate the small dessert in thankfulness and without complaints. Xiang sat down next to her as he continued to toy with another firecracker.

Mei finished the moon cake and let out a small, "thank you." Xiang seemed a little surprised by the response but smiled and patted her head. Now Mei was even more embarrassed because 1) Xiang actually gave one of his rare smiles and 2) she got her head patted by him. Mei got up and suggested that they continue to work on their plan for Yao and Ivan so they did so.

The plan modifications this time were just about the music. The two could not for the life of them decide on what to play. Eventually they reached a standstill and they just lazed around the room. Xiang began to hum a soft yet calming tone. Mei took notice of this and realized the song and she began to hum along with him. When they finished they both looked at each other and agreed on what to play.

Xiang noted the time and Mei took out her pink cell phone with a little flower charm and started to call Kiku.

"Kiku? It's kind of late, could you come pick me up from Xiang's place? Hmmhm, okay, you'll be here in ten minutes? That's fine." She closed her phone and stood up. The sudden change in weight made her a bit unsteady but she regained her composure.

Xiang opened his bedroom door and they walked downstairs. Arthur was sitting on the couch working on his embroidery. "Oh Xiang. Is Mei leaving now?"

"She is."

"Do you want a ride or is someone going to pick you up?"

"My cousin and guardian Kiku is coming."

"I see, we'll see you out." Arthur got out of his seat and walked with Xiang and Mei out the door. They waited on the lawn for a few minutes before a car parked in front of the house. Kiku emerged from the car and walked over to us. Arthur went up to meet with Kiku but then they both stopped as they saw each other's faces. The two gave each other death glares. The tension suddenly got immense so much so that it could probably be cut with a knife.

"What are you doing here?" demanded Kiku.

"This is my house. What are you doing here?" replied Arthur.

"I'm here to pick up my cousin, Mei."

"Wait, she's your cousin?"

"That is correct." He then turned to Xiang for a brief second and then returned his gaze to British man. "I assume that Xiang is your step-brother?"

"And what if he is you git?"

"Mei! Come over here this instant."

Mei got up and told Xiang goodbye. She then ran pass Arthur and to Kiku. "We're leaving now. Also you are never to come over here again."

"Wait why?"

Arthur turned to Xiang, "That goes for you too Xiang, I don't want you ever going to her house."

"Why?" Xiang demanded.

The two adults didn't respond. Kiku grabbed Mei's hand and pulled her to the car. Mei turned her head to Xiang with a questioning gaze but the same gaze was received. Mei climbed into the car and they drove off. Arthur stormed back into the house and Xiang followed quietly.

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Author's Note:

Yep, a little conflict between the two's guardian's. Why are they acting this way you ask? Well those questions will have to be answered in the next chapter. Also I feel bad for making the two have to eat Arthur's cooking but you know, it gives more humor and etc. Thanks to those who read and review.


	4. Chapter 4 Success

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Hetalia. All rights go to Hidekaz Himaruya

Ch. 4 Success

The morning couldn't come fast enough for the two. Why were they like that they asked themselves. But soon enough the morning began and the two meet with each other at school but both were a bit edgey so they came earlier. Somehow they came at the right time, just as if they had some sort of telepathic connection.

"So did you figure out what was wrong?" asked Mei.

"Yes, I did some research and found out what's the source of their reaction last night."

"Well out with it already. The tension and anticipation is killing me."

"Right so you know how Kiku is the head of a large business?"

"Right but how would you know that?"

"I looked it up online. It says he's the head of Honda industries. Anyway Arthur is also the head of Kirkland industries and the two are large rivals. They compete in almost every department and they go head to head in those things. Although Arthur's food department is quite horrible as you can imagine."

Shuttering from the memory, "Yeah."

"Also Arthur's magic trinkets are doing surprisingly well in the kids department."

"So what are we going to do about this? Disobey them?"

"I don't think that's a wise decision. But they never said we had to stop being friends and we could still meet outside of our homes."

"You're surprisingly sly when you want to be Xiang."

Xiang nodded. "So are we going to initiate the plan today after school?"

"Yep, since the shop's closed today, we'll move on with the plan. We can't let our guardians stop us from putting two people together right?"

Xiang pulled the plans that they had been working on out of his bad and laid them out on his desk. "Everything is here. The steps, the music and most importantly this contract that gives us all legality to be doing this stuff."

Mei grabbed the plans and started to read them out loud; "Step 1: Use the spare keys that Yao gave us to go inside and set things up. Step 2: Call the both of them to the store with some sort of emergency or other. Step 3: Lock all the doors and exits and close off all the lights besides a few candle lights. Step 4: Start to play our instruments while being hidden behind the rice screen. Step 5: They start to confess, fall in love, and we all be happy. Sound good?"

"The last one is questionable."

"Oh shut up. Let's do this."

School flew by before the two knew it. The plan had to be initiated before night time so that there wouldn't be too many people wondering what the two would be doing yet enough light to still make their move. The time in between this, they used to better synchronize with each other with their instruments. Xiang took out his cell phone with a little panda shaped charm. He told Mei that it was about time and they cleaned up and headed out of the school's music room.

The town was surprisingly quiet and the two entered the shop. Everything was cleaned up and the chairs were stacked on top of the tables. Mei moved to make some tea and Xiang started to close all the blinds and set up the rice screens to hide themselves. Mei took out her phone and pressed the speed dial button for Yao and began to clear her voice for the act she was about to put up.

"_Hello? Me_i? _~aru_"

"Yao! Quickly come to the shop! I was making some tea and I accidently set something on fire while I was boiling the tea!."

"_Aiyahh! I'll be there right away ~aru._" Mei closed the phone and gave Xiang and thumbs up. Xiang started to lit the candles and moved over to the doors to shut them in when Ivan and Yao came. Mei then dialed Ivan's number that she got from the counter. It seemed that he was a regular. She cleared her voice again but only this time she would have to try and mimic Yao's voice only it wasn't going to be too difficult. She had done it before.

"_Hello? This is Ivan speaking_."

"Ivan? This is Yao, could you come over to the shop? I want to talk to you ~aru."

"_Da, I shall be over in a moment_." Mei closed her phone and she gave Xiang a victory smile and Xiang just rolled his eyes. Mei grabbed their things and moved over to the rice screens; also turning the lights off as well.

All was silent as they waited for the two soon-to-be couple to show up. Yao burst through the door and began to shout, "Mei! Where's the fire? Why are the lights off ~aru?" Yao began to walk further into the shop and he then noticed the candles that lit a table at the corner of the room. He walked over there and suddenly Ivan came through the door.

Yao turned to look at him, "I-Ivan? W-why are you here ~aru?"

Ivan began to walk over to Yao, "I received a call from you and you said that you wanted to talk to me."

Xiang took this moment to silently lock the door. Blending in with the shadows he quickly moved over to the rice screens where Mei waited with his xiao. He gently took it from her and placed the woodwind instrument close to his mouth. Mei then sat down and placed her erhu between her legs and readied the bow.

"W-what? I did no such thing ~aru."

"If that were true then why does this scene seem a bit too romantic for nothing," answered Ivan.

Mei gave Xiang the signal and he began to gently blow into the xiao. After a few melodies in, Mei began to bow her erhu and a soft song came into being. Yao and Ivan didn't take notice of who would be playing the song but enjoyed it nonetheless.

"I don't know ~aru." Yao began to blush and tried to turn his face away from Ivan.

Ivan then took Yao's chine with his hand and turned his face toward him, "If you don't know then why are you turning away from me?" He asked seductively.

"Because I don't want you to see the embarrassment on my face ~aru."

"It's fine. You know you're cuter when you're truthful and when you have this nice shade of red."

Yao flushed even harder then. "T-then why do you care? ~aru"

"Isn't that obvious?"

"No ~aru."

"Well my little Jao, should I tell you?"

"I-if you want ~aru."

"Then I'll take that as your permission."

"Permission to do wha-" Ivan pulled Yao toward him and then captured his lips with his own. The kiss only lasted for a brief moment but it was enough to make Yao turn scarlet. "~aru."

"I like you Jao."

"I-I like you too."

Ivan then hugged Yao and Yao returned the hug gently. Just then the lights flicked on and Mei and Xiang emerged from the rice screens.

"Yay! It was a success!" exclaimed Mei. "Didn't I tell you it'd work Xiang?"

"Yeah." Xiang mentally sighed; he knew he wasn't going to hear the end of this for a while now.

"Mei? Xiang? I should have known you two set this up ~aru."

"Are you angry?" asked Mei.

"I'm angry that you would trick us into this but I have to say thank you ~aru."

"Da, I also have to say thank you to you two. Who knows how long it would've taken me to corner Yao like this and make him confess, kolkolkol."

"You're welcome?"

"Well we'll leave you two alone so you can do whatever it is couples do," said Xiang. He then grabbed Mei and their things and left the shop. They noticed that it was still around sunset so Mei decided she wanted to go to the flower gardens. They entered through a gate and they enjoyed the views of fields upon fields of flowers. As the two walked through the fields, they enjoyed the smell of the flowers. There were a few greenhouses at the end of the walk way so they decided to head over there. Mei pushed open the door and looked around.

"Hello! Is anyone here?" shouted Mei.

Footsteps started to move and a very tall man with light hair and bluish-green eyes appeared. Mei was about to talk to him until he came closer at which point Mei backed away behind Xiang. Xiang could see why, the man had a very intimidating aura. The two silent men started to stare at each other, neither moving a muscle nor even blinking. Mei now believed that she had started a competition between the two that would probably last all night if this were to be uninterrupted.

A short blonde man suddenly appeared and started to shout, "Berwald! There you are. Who are the kids?"

"Ehh, we're students that were just looking around the flower gardens," explained Mei.

"Oh, this is Berwald and my name is Tino."

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Mei and this is Xiang. Oh, could you somehow stop their stare off?"

"Sure," accepted Tino. He started to wave his hand in front of Berwald trying to get him to break his immobile state.

Mean while with Berwald and Xiang, they were sending messages to each other through their stoic faces and eyes.

_Why are you two around here?_

_Like my friend explained, we're just enjoying the flowers. Are you the gardener around here?_

Berwald gave an agreed stare and continued. _I am the main gardener around here and this is my wife Tino. _

_Your wife? Does he know that?_

_He does not, not yet anyway. _

_I see. _Xiang could predict the next couple that he and Mei were going to match up now.

_So who's she?_

_She's my best friend. _

Just then Mei came in and smacked Xiang over the head, breaking him out of his stare off with Berwald. "Dammit Xiang, why did you have to go off into another world or something."

Xiang gave her an apologetic gaze and she let out a sigh, "Fine I forgive you."

"Oh you two communicate so well," exclaimed Tino. "Is he your boyfriend or something?"

Mei turned into a deep shade of red from the question, "What! No no no. He's my best friend, not boyfriend."

"Oh, sorry for my misunderstanding."

Mei started to calm down, "It's okay. Well it's getting pretty late. We have to go now."

"Oh, well do come by sometime. Also you should come by to my hot springs when you can."

"Wait, you're not a gardener too?" asked Xiang.

"Oh no. I just come to visit Berwald. The hot springs are pretty slow until night time."

"That's interesting," said Mei. "We'll try and visit some time then. Well bye!"

"Bye you two."

As they began to walk out of the garden, Mei asked, "Xiang, what were you doing having the staring contest anyway?"

"I was talking to him."

"What? But you guys weren't even saying anything."

"We didn't have to. Anyway, I think you'd like to learn that Berwald likes Tino."

"Really? I thought they were already together. Wait, why are you telling me this?"

"Just because you know, since we helped Ivan and Yao, I thought we could help others too."

"Haha, I sucked you into this and now you can't get away huh? Well anyway you've figured out our next mission. We'll start planning tomorrow, kay?"

"Alright."

Authors Note:

This chapter was kind of fun to write you know with the whole Yao/Ivan thing and then a stare off with Xiang and Berwald. Prepare yourselves for a major plot twist in the next chapter and along with that I need to give even more credit to an OCs creator. Thank you for reading and hopefully reviewing


	5. Chapter 5 Rival

Ch. 5 Rival

After that day with getting together Yao and Ivan then further finding another pair to match up; Mei and Xiang were exhausted. They not only had to plan for their next pair, they had a few projects to do and since they weren't allowed at each other's houses, they had to do most of this work independently then move onto putting it together at the _Pearl Blossom_. And at the tea shop, they always saw the fruit of their labor, that being that Ivan and Yao were almost inseparable. The two were looking forward to Friday because after that class they, would be the weekend and they could relax a little. Also it was a little pass mid-January and the winter would soon be over in another month's time even though it's not really that cold where they live.

"Xiang, is it the weekend yet?" complained Mei.

Xiang remained silent. Xiang began to ponder what to do for entertainment on the weekend. He would probably just hang out with Mei as usual and watch her mess up on something then yell at him for laughing at her. The bell rang announcing the start of class and everyone took their seat. The teacher walked in and placed his things under the podium.

"Good morning class. Today we'll start class a bit differently, we have two new students."

The door opened and the first student ran in and stood tall in front of the class.

"Hi everyone! My name is Im Yong Soo. I transferred from Korea. I hope we have a fantastic year together, da ze!"

"Very good Yong Soo. Your seat will be next to ummm… Xiang." Xiang raised his hand and Yong Soo came over and sat down next to the Asian.

"Hi. So your name is Xiang huh? That's an interesting name. You want to be friends?"

Xiang remained silent. "Hmm, don't like to talk huh? Well that's fine. I'll take your silence as a yes!"

Xiang was becoming increasingly annoyed by the hyper Korean. Xiang gave him a slight grunt to at least keep him quiet.

"Ok, if you're done talking Yong Soo. Our next transfer, please come in."

Unlike the last, the new Korean that walked into the class room remained calm cool and collected. "Hello everyone. My name is Im Hyung Soo. Unlike my hyper active brother, I am a serious person and I look forward to my time here."

"Excellent Hyung, your seat will be behind Mei." Mei however did not hear the teacher because for one, she was asleep.

"Miss Wang! Wake up this instant!"

Mei then jolted up and started to look around the room, "Ehh, I'm awake!" Some laughter was heard throughout the class room. Hyung nodded toward the teacher and headed toward Mei. As he passed her, he gave her a slight wink and she blushed from the sudden action. Xiang however was somehow even more annoyed by this than having Im Yong next to him and his constant blathering.

"Ok class, now that introductions are out of the way, we shall begin class. We'll start with…"

The class period went by surprisingly fast and lunch came. Mei was surprisingly silent during the walk to the cafeteria, usually she be going on about how class was so boring and how she hated it but all he heard was silence. The grabbed their food and sat down at their usual spot and then came their two friends Yue and Thai.

"Hey guys," greeted Yue. "We heard your class got two new students and that they're both good looking."

"Yeah, we got two new students and I guess so," answered Mei. "One of them is really hyper and the other seems cool."

Yue then sat down next to Mei. "Ok, sounds like you have a crush Mei." Xiang slowed his eating to try and pay attention to the two girls talk.

"W-what? I do not. He's just a bit cute and cool."

"Right. I can tell when you're lying you know. Mei has a crush~"

"Shut up! I do not. I just met the guy."

"Omg, its love at first sight then."

"Gah, get it through your head Kim. I. Do. Not. Like. Him. Got it?"

"Right Meimei. Whatever you say." Mei almost faced palmed from Yue's attitude. Xiang hadn't noticed it but he completely mangled the chop sticks that he held in his hands from the tension. Xiang swiftly threw the now useless utensils into the trash and pulled out another pair to remain inconspicuous. Thai moved over to Xiang and began to chat. The rest of lunch went off without another incident or any face palming. That is until the two new twins came to their table.

"Hey guys!" shouted Yong Soo. "What'cha doing?"

"We're just eating and talking," answered Kim.

"Could we sit down here?" asked Hyung.

"Sure," answered Yue. She then went into a whisper with Mei, "Is that him? I knew it, he is cute."

"Yes that's him and I said I don't have a crush on him," whispered Mei.

"What are you two talking about," asked Hyung.

"Eh, nothing, nothing at all," responded Mei.

Yong Soo sat in between Thai and Xiang while Hyung sat across from Yue and Mei. Yong Soo started to talk and immediately Xiang blocked out his blabbering while Thai actually started to argue with him.

Hyung was about to speak until Xiang turned his sight to Hyung and the same for him. Xiang began a glare, declaring a challenge with Hyung and he silently accepted as he returned the glare. The tension in the air began to build until everyone in the cafeteria noted on it, all except for their table that remained oblivious to the situation. The bell rang and broke them out of their trances and everyone began to leave for class. For this half of the day, Xiang and Mei went to the music room.

They sat down at their appropriate seats and Mr. Edelstein came into the room. "Ok class. We have two new students today," he pointed to the entrance and there stood the two twins. Xiang mentally groaned; they were in his class yet again.

They took their seats in front of Xiang and Mei. "Ok class, today we'll try to harmonize with each other. So take out your instruments and try to follow the beat as I play on the piano. Also, Yong Soo and Hyung, since you're new here, you can just listen in until we find you two an instrument to play." Mr. Edelstein then went over to the grand piano and rested his fingers on the keys. We all prepared our instruments and began to play. The first few notes were a bit shaky but as they progressed, the notes and music began to sound as one. After surpassing the crescendo, the music ended and everyone took a breath of air. Yong Soo began to clap while Hyung remained with his arms crossed.

Just then a woman burst through the doors and ran toward Mr. Edelstein. "Roddy!"

"Elizabeta? What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't wait to tell you so I came here but I got promoted. I'm now the head of gathering ideas and material for Mr. Honda's secret project line. I can't say what it exactly is until we go into a more private place but I couldn't wait to tell you first."

"Elizabeta, I'm in the middle of class right now."

"Hmm?" Elizabeta then turned around to face the class and she briefly waves to them, "That's fine then. I'll just wait around till it's over."

Mr. Edelstein sighed and then turned his attention back to the class. "Ok everyone; please practice on your individual or duet pieces for the remainder of the period." Mr. Edelstein stood up from his piano and started to walk with Elizabeta. Mei turned to her partner, Xiang.

"Ok, so should we practice that song?" she asked.

"Sure. I'll start it like always." Xiang then placed his xiao into his case and took out his second instrument that he had been practicing with. He held the violin close onto his shoulder and held it in with his chin. The only reason he learned to play the violin was to be able to play a few selected pieces with Mei and her skills in piano weren't too bad. The room suddenly became silent as everyone turned their attention to the duo's duet. For some reason, the entire class would always be enchanted by the music the two played and always lost track of their own music when they played so they all decided instead to just listen.

Mei waltzed over to the piano Mr. Edelstein usually played and rested her fingers on the keys. Xiang gave Mei the sign and she began to play the piano with a steady beat. After a few measures in, Xiang raised his bow to the strings and began to play. The bow resonated with the strings and gave a gentle melody. Along with the piano the soft song came into being and steadily the increased the tempo until they reached the climax and a crescendo was done. The music began to slow down and the two ended the song. Everyone in the class began to clap in response to the performance and Mei gave an embarrassing bow while Xiang remained like his usual self.

"That was amazing!" exclaimed Yong Soo. "How come the two of you are so good compared to most of these people?"

"Huh, we'll we both used to play our main instruments a lot with our friend Yao when we were younger so I guess we just picked up the skill for music somewhere along the line. Except, Xiang is a lot better than me since he can learn things so quickly."

"You're being too modest. You're very talented yourself," complimented Hyung. Mei gave a slight blush and Xiang controlled himself from crushing the instrument he held.

"It's really nothing but thanks anyway," responded Mei.

"It's not a problem."

The bell suddenly rang and everyone started to leave. Xiang placed his violin back into the case and went with Mei. Before they could leave however, they were interrupted as Mr. Edelstein called for them. They walked over to the teacher and took a seat in the front row.

"Mei, I have something to tell you but Xiang you don't have to be here."

"With all due respect Mr. Edelstein, I want to stay," answered Xiang.

"Very well. Anyway, Mei, I received a message from your home room teacher and he's said that you've been falling behind on your extracurricular activities and he's worried."

"I'm sorry. I've been…busy lately and I couldn't get my hours."

"Well that's why he told me. The school play is coming up and I think you should audition, if you get the main part, you'll be able to catch up on your hours and actually complete them."

"Really? That sounds good. What's the play?"

"Romeo and Juliet."

"You're kidding me right? You mean the actual old 'Romeo and Juliet' play that almost every school has done and always has that tragic yet expected ending?"

"Yes that very same play. I'm sorry you feel that way but there's no other way to get your hours in time unless you were to find another activity to do but frankly, this is the only one that's available currently. There certainly will be others but that's later in the year and you can't afford to wait."

Mei tensed up. "But…Fine, I'll go audition for the stupid play."

"Very good Mei. Now you two can run along."

Mei and Xiang left the room and Mei let out a heavy sigh. "Xiang, how do I always get into these situations? It's not my fault is it? I'm just busy trying to help people fall in love and I get this."

"Well I would say that you should've managed your time better but it really isn't your fault. You're doing good things for others. At least you might have fun right?"

"Thanks Xiang. And wrong! This won't be fun at all. The play is so old fashion and it's cheesy."

"Well I don't know what to say about that. Would it be better if I try and join the play too so I can be there for moral support?"

"You'd really do that for me? That'd be great. I won't have to suffer alone then."

"Yeah I would. And I'm not going to audition for a main part. Just as help or something so I don't have to speak so much and still be around to watch over you."

"Great!" They began their usual routine after that and started to head over to the Pearl Blossom but they were being followed by a familiar two.

"Hey guys! You two go this way too? What a coincidence, we just live down the street! You two should come over some time and we could hang out and do stuff," exclaimed Yong Soo.

"Oh Yong Soo. We're just heading down to a store and maybe some other time," answered Mei.

"Oh, that's too bad. But do you mind if we join you?"

"Yes we would," answered Xiang.

"Aww, Xiang, why are you so mean~?" asked Yong Soo.

"That's just fine, we need to get home anyway," said Hyung.

He walked past the two and gave Mei another wink which made Mei lost in her own thoughts. Xiang began to wave his fingers in front of Mei's face but to no avail. He then did a risky task and poked her in the cheek and immediately she turned to Xiang.

"Huh? What? What happened?"

"You got lost after Hyung gave you a wink."

Mei started to blush a little, "Really? I didn't mean to…"

"It's fine." They began to walk again and they almost reached the shop. "Mei…"

"Hmm?"

"You don't really like him, do you?"

"Of course not. I just met him. I think he's a bit cute but I don't like him that way."

Xiang felt relieved after hearing that. There was something he really didn't like about Hyung. "Why do you ask though? Are you jealous maybe?"

"What? Of course not. I just don't like him."

Mei laughed a little, "Rrright."

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Hetalia. All rights go to Hidekaz Himaruya

All credit of North Korea OC goes to Lo-wah.

Author Note:

Sorry about not being able to update sooner. I've been preoccupied with school and stuff. But reviews help motivate me to finish so there's something. Anyway, how was the chapter? The rival appears and we see some jealousy and a little more into the plots with other characters. Also if you didn't know, Yue is Vietnam and Thai is Thailand. Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter, the next chapter will probably focus on Tino and Berwald then a little more info into another pairing.


	6. Chapter 6 Sunset Festival

Ch. 6 Sunset Festival

Saturday arrived and Xiang and Mei were up early to meet up and commence with their plan. The two met at the Pearl Blossom and Yao was already there waiting for them with their regular orders of jasmine tea. The two decided that this particular pair would be somewhat difficult to get together because of both people's nature. Berwald was similar to Xiang, since they were both very silent and sometimes intimidating so Xiang would mainly focus on him. Tino was a very happy and talkative person which Mei would handle.

"You two really are doing a good thing ~aru," commented Yao.

"Yeah, we know. After all, love is something that should be everywhere and if two people don't realize it, then that's where we come in," answered Mei.

"Yes that's all good, but remember not to forget about your studies. Xiang told me about the whole play thing ~aru."

"Yeah I know. Don't worry about. I'll ace the auditions then play Juliet and done. Easy as drinking tea."

"I wonder about your overconfidence sometimes. But what are you going to do about the kiss scene? ~aru"

"Umm, I have no idea at all. Hopefully I get a cute partner so it'll be less awkward for me but I really hope they re-edit it so I don't have to kiss anyone."

"Well good luck you two ~aru." Yao then walked to the back of the shop and started boiling more water as customers began to enter.

"So Xiang, you understand the plan right?"

"Of course. I go to the gardens and get Berwald to walk with me. You go get Tino and get him to walk with you and we both get them to the same spot. After that we drop more hints about them liking each other to set the mood, and then get them to have fun with each other, and hopefully they confess."

"You forgot about the part where I 'obliviously' say that they would go well together."

"Yeah, and that's an important part of the plan," Xiang said sarcastically.

"Of course it is! If I didn't do that, then the subject would remain completely void."

"I highly doubt that if we're in such a natural setting but whatever."

"Oh be quiet you. Now let's get to work."

Mei and Xiang paid for their tea and left the tip. The two went outside and commenced their plan by splitting up first. Xiang headed across the fields to where Berwald worked and Mei headed over to the hot springs near the mountains.

* * *

Xiang approached the greenhouse and saw Berwald watering some plants. The man turned his head to Xiang and they began their silent communication once more.

_Visiting again?_

_ Yes_

_ Where's your friend?_

_ Oh she'll meet up with me later. Anyway, do you have time to spare for the rest of today?_

_ I do. Why do you ask?_

_ I would like you to accompany my friend and me on a little errand. _

_ Very well. I needed something to do with my time. All the flowers are properly watered and cared for, for today anyway. _

_ Good. Let's go then. Mei said she'd meet us at downtown plaza. _

The two silent figures left the flower fields and started to walk down to the plaza.

* * *

Mei found the hot springs that Tito was talking about and entered. She saw Tino sitting at the counter writing something. Tino looked up to see Mei and his face brightened.

"Oh Mei. What are you doing here? To try out the hot springs?"

"Oh no, maybe another time. I'm here to ask you if you could help come with me and Xiang on a little errand."

"I would be happy to. Where is he by the way?"

"Oh, he's meeting with someone right now but he'll meet up with us. I told him we'd be down by the plaza."

"Alright then! Let's get going." Mei nodded and led the way out of the small establishment.

* * *

Mei and Tino waited patiently at the water fountain in the center of the plaza. The two talked about any random events that occurred after they last met up. Obviously Mei talked about her need to join the main role in the play and Tino talked about all the nice people that he's met and the relaxation that the hot springs brings him. The sun was raised directly over their heads as Xiang and Berwald appeared behind the two talkative people.

Mei turned around and got startled, raising her hand and smacking Xiang over the head. "Dammit Xiang! Don't scare me like that!"

Xiang let out a small 'ow' and apologized for their lateness. "Well I guess its okay then. Anyway, let's get going." Mei turned to Tino who retained his cheerful nature but there was some air of tension as Tino and Berwald met eyes. Mei started to lead the group toward outside the city. Tino tried to ask where they were going but Mei kept responding that it would be a surprise.

The group continued to walk down the path and into the forest as the sun shined through the trees giving the path a nice shady look yet bright enough to allow them to see everything. "Sooo…," began Mei, "you don't mind if we invited Berwald right Tino?"

"Huh? Of course not, Berwald is pretty fun to be around even though he doesn't talk much."

"Heh, I know the type," responded Mei as she gave a playful glance to Xiang.

"So are you still not going to answer why we're here or where we're going?"

"Yep. You two will know once we get there."

"Oh well. I like surprises. It's like a Christmas present that isn't wrapped up."

"Interesting analogy. You two are close right?"

"Yeah, me and Berwald have known each other for a long time."

"So I can say you two like each other right?"

"You mean as friends? Of course!" Mei sighed; it would be much harder to get a reaction out of Tino than she thought.

"But I didn't know you guys were just friends, I'd say that you two would make a great couple."

A slight tinge of pink appeared in Tino's face, "Huh? Really?" Xiang wanted to face palm himself. He couldn't believe that such a ridiculous line would actually work.

"Yes really. You two go well together as friends and a would-be couple."

Tino turned into a slightly darker shade of pink, "I guess so. But Berwald has never said anything about that. I think."

Xiang began to understand why the two weren't together. Berwald never showed his true feelings yet he was kind toward the Finnish man. The group remained relatively silent after those short few comments to each other. Mei began to become a bit hyper as she knew their stop was getting closer. Eventually the group came to a large clearing and they found themselves in a festival.

"Wow!" exclaimed Tino. "This is amazing! I didn't even hear about this place. This is the place right?"

"Of course it is silly. Now let's go enjoy ourselves."

Tino cheered and grabbed the nearest person to him (which just happened to be Berwald) and went off to the stands and rides. Mei and Xiang stayed back slightly; with Mei having a grin over her face and Xiang remaining stoic.

Tino enjoyed himself with Berwald as they went to most of the stands to see if anything was interesting and as expected, Tino liked almost all of them as he won a prize from each of them (excluding the food stands). The duo came to a stand where the point of the game was to knock down some bottles with a plastic ball. The trick however wasn't so simple. The bottles looked heavy in comparison to the light sphere. Tino attempted to win the game at least eight times before he had to give up with a disappointed look on his face. The stand manager however remained with a delighted look on his face. Berwald then moved forward and asked for a chance at the game.

"Are you sure young man?"

"I'm sure."

"Fine, it's your money." Berwald handed over a dollar and the man offered up a ball. The man then went to the side of the stand to watch as he expected another failure. He would be very disappointed however. Berwald held his arm back and in an instant threw the ball as it crashed through the bottles and broke through the wall the stood behind it. The man remained wide-eye as he saw the act of brute strength from Berwald. Berwald silently went up to the stand and grabbed the plushy that Tino had been eying.

"Here you go," told Berwald as he gave Tino the giant white dog.

"Thanks so much Berwald!" Tino then hugged the tall man in thanks. "I should've known you were that strong."

"It was nothing." The two then proceeded onto other stands as Mei and Xiang watched.

"See Xiang, this plan is so going to work."

"I guess. Looks like all that research I did to find this place paid off."

"Don't forget my expert planning."

"More like on the go planning. We didn't finish any of this till yesterday night when you bugged me all night about it."

"Shut up. At least it's working."

The two noticed that they lost track of the pair with their short rant. They quickly ran in the general direction the two went and found them outside the festival sitting together on the hill as the sun began to set. Mei thought that this would be the moment their plan succeeded and Xiang really couldn't deny the truth of this.

"Berwald this has been a great day."

"I agree."

"It's kind of embarrassing to say but I think this day's success for me is thanks to you."

Berwald titled his head in curiousness. "I mean, you spending the day with me is what made it so great. But I'm sure you don't want to hear it from someone like me."

"That's not true. I had an enjoyable time too and I'm happy to hear that from you."

"Huh?"

"I mean that I like the time I spent with you and to hear the same thing from you makes me happy."

"Really? Could you tell me why?"

Berwald became a little red as he began to explain. "It's because I like you."

"Do you mean as friends?" asked Tino, a little saddened.

"No." Tino lifted his head in hopefulness. "It's because I like you more than just as a friend. You're the person I want to spend all my time with."

"R-really? You never showed any interest in me so I thought…"

"That is my fault. I may not show it but I really do care about you."

"Then, I guess it's my turn to say that I like you too. More than a friend because you're the person I talk to the most and the person I like the most."

Berwald then broke his emotionless face in favor of a smile as he pulled Tino closer to him and leaned in. Tino flushed a deep red but accepted as they kissed. After the moment passed they parted. They sat together, Tino leaning his head onto Berwald as they enjoyed the view of the sunset. After the sunset passed they stood up and walked back to the festival. There waiting was a very hyper and cheery Mei and Xiang.

"Congratulations you two!"

"You two planned this didn't you?" asked Tino.

"Of course. We saw that you two liked each other but both of you didn't say anything so Xiang and I were here for that extra push."

"Well thank you for giving us this wonderful day."

"It was our pleasure," answered the both of them.

The group started to walk back into town while lanterns lighted the path. The two pairs separated at that point and Xiang and Mei went home as Tino and Berwald wanted to spend more time together.

"Hey Berwald."

"Hmm?"

"Do you wonder why those two aren't together?"

"Maybe they're like us and need someone to help them."

"That could be it. But they're bright kids; I think they'll be able to gain their own happiness if they can help us."

"I couldn't agree more."

* * *

The rest of the weekend was just time for relaxation. Mei really appreciated this time because this would probably be one of her last free weekends for a while. Since as soon as it reaches Monday, all hell would be released and she'd be busy twenty-four seven with rehearsals and the play itself. She spent the last few hours of her weekend practicing the script she was given and drifted into sleep for the approaching day.

School went by very quickly but as each class passed by, Mei grew even more nervous as the audition came closer and closer. She envied Xiang's calmness right now as he looked completely unfazed by the auditions. The two waited until the last class of the day ended and they headed off to the auditions. There was a surprising number of participants, each doing exercises and reviewing their lines. Mei sat at a corner of the room as she stared into a script. Xiang was close by as he remained completely silent. The stage manager started the auditions and called out the names of the participants. There seemed to be no order at all besides him reading it off. The participants began their contest for the part they wanted but Mei really needed to push it over the top to get the main role. Some of the people did well, some did spectacular and some just did terrible.

"Mei Wang!" called out the manager.

"Here!" Mei stood up and began to walk to the front of the stage but she nervously shook with each step she took. Xiang then came over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry Mei, you'll do great. I know it." Mei's stage freight suddenly disappeared as she was reassured by Xiang's words.

"Thanks Xiang."

Mei headed off to the front of the stage and waited as the teacher settled her papers. "Mei Wang; auditioning for the part of Juliet. You may proceed," she instructed.

Mei nodded and she cleared her voice:

_'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;  
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.  
What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,  
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part  
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!  
What's in a name? that which we call a rose  
By any other name would smell as sweet;  
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,  
Retain that dear perfection which he owes  
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,  
And for that name which is no part of thee  
Take all myself._

Mei spoke with a soft yet strong tone. Each line filled with wonder and passion. Mei ended her monologue and took a quick bow as Xiang clapped for her. "How did I do?" she asked.

"You did great."

"Really? Thanks."

Suddenly the stage manager called "Xiang Kirkland!" Xiang gave a reassuring gaze to Mei and left for the stage. The teacher did what she did for Mei before and Xiang closed his eyes. Mei listened attentively, since Xiang never really spoke that much or even loudly for that matter.

_But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?  
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.  
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,  
Who is already sick and pale with grief,  
That thou her maid art far more fair than she:  
Be not her maid, since she is envious;  
Her vestal livery is but sick and green  
And none but fools do wear it; cast it off.  
It is my lady, O, it is my love!  
O, that she knew she were!  
She speaks yet she says nothing: what of that?  
Her eye discourses; I will answer it.  
I am too bold, 'tis not to me she speaks:  
Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven,  
Having some business, do entreat her eyes  
To twinkle in their spheres till they return.  
What if her eyes were there, they in her head?  
The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars,  
As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven  
Would through the airy region stream so bright  
That birds would sing and think it were not night.  
See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand!  
O, that I were a glove upon that hand,  
That I might touch that cheek!_

Each line Xiang spoke was filled with such emotion and strength that Mei could hardly believe it was the same Xiang she knew. Xiang walked off the stage and the sound of clapping echoed through the theater. "Xiang, that was amazing! I thought you said you were just going to be stage help?"

"I did but when I asked the teacher she said I would have to at least do an audition first."

"Oh, that makes sense." Suddenly the back doors opened and emerged the two twins.

"Xiang! Mei! What are you two doing here?" asked Yong Soo.

"Where here for the auditions silly," answered Mei.

"You two are? So are we."

"You mean the both of you?" asked Xiang.

"That's correct," answered Hyung.

"I'm sure you'll do great," commented Mei.

"You can count on that," replied Hyung. Hyung's name was then called out and he went onto the stage. Hyung began to speak and to Xiang's annoyance and anger he did the same monologue he just did. The only difference is, Hyung was definitely trying to outdo everyone and he was better. The theater exploded with applause as Hyung left the stage. Xiang gave a scowl toward Hyung but it was completely ignored.

The rest of the auditions went by quickly and Yong Soo did surprisingly well. The teacher then called everyone onto the stage to announce their parts. She quickly went through names, some disappointments were heard throughout the crowd of people. Mei again nervously waited to hear her name.

"Mei Wang! You will be playing Juliet." Mei leaped up and cheered.

"Xiang Kirkland! You will be Romeo's understudy." Xiang regretted now going all out now because he knew who would be Romeo now.

"Im Hyung Soo! You will be playing Romeo." Hyung just gave a slight grin but that was enough to make Xiang want to destroy something.

The teacher finished the announcements and told everyone that rehearsals would begin first thing tomorrow and everyone began to leave. Xiang went up to Mei and congratulated her on gaining the part. Hyung came up from behind Xiang and pushed by him.

"Looks like we'll be working with each other a lot," commented Hyung.

"Umm, yeah. I'm looking forward to it."

Hyung then lifted her hand and gave her a quick kiss on it which made Mei blush. He then quickly left and left Mei in a daze. After a while Mei regained her sense of mind and the two friends left the school and began to head home. The two of them remained silent on their way home and eventually parted. Xiang returned home but instead of going up to his room like he always did he went to the backyard. He walked up to the part of the yard that he himself assembled in a more preferable Asian culture. He looked down at one the stones he assembled. In an instant he brought his hand down onto the stone and completely destroyed the boulder that he himself placed there. Arthur who just happened to be in the yard looked in shock and amazement.

"Xiang! Why in the world did you just do that?"

"I just decided that I needed one less boulder there."

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Hetalia. All rights go to Hidekaz Himaruya

All credit of North Korea OC goes to Lo-wah.

Author Note:

Wow, this chapter was long but it's done. I hope you readers enjoyed this. Sorry that I'm not updating every few days, school and stuff is keeping me busy and the chapters are becoming longer as you can see. But I will continue to write since I really want to and its fun. Reviews also motivate me more to finish so please do so. Anyway, yep, I got Tino and Berwald together while also creating more jealousy and Xiang's anger.

I shall try to update as fast as I can, thank you to those who reviewed.


	7. Chapter 7 Competition

Ch. 7 Competition

Rehearsals were underway. The actors were up in the front of the stage rehearsing their lines with scripts in hand as the teacher over looked their progress. The people that didn't have direct parts in the play were in the back working on props and building the sets. Xiang stood to the side of the stage working on a background set as he closely watched over Mei and Hyung. Xiang didn't understand why he felt so infuriated with Hyung but it didn't matter to him. Mei remained somewhat oblivious to Xiang's fury for several reasons. One; because of his usual stoic expression and two; she was constantly distracted by Hyung. Mei truly didn't have any time to spare for free time or fun. On the week days she would be rehearsing after school and at home finishing her homework and projects. On the weekends Xiang would help her rehears her lines and she quickly memorized them thanks to his efforts. However she noticed something different with Xiang during those weekends. He was even more silent than before (if that was possible), he didn't make any comments about her mess ups like he usually did as if he was more worried over how she thought of him. One weekend came and she could no longer hold in her curiosity.

"Xiang."

"Hmm?"

"You've been acting weird. Like ever since we started rehearsing for Romeo and Juliet."

"Have I?"

"Yes you have. You've been more silent than usual and you're not talking to me that much anymore. I'm worried."

"It's nothing. I've just had a lot on my mind."

"Xiang. It's not just nothing. If you have a problem, please tell me. I don't want you to be this troubled if something is really bothering you, if I can help it."

"Fine. I don't like Hyung being around you. There I said it."

Mei raised an eye brow and a slight chuckle. "So you're just jealous?"

"What? I'm not jealous. Why would I be jealous?"

"You so obviously are. Don't worry, it's not like you have something to regret right? And you'll always be my best friend."

"I am not. You're just over thinking things like you always do."

"What! I am not! I just see something I'm concerned over and I try and figure out what's wrong and solve it."

"You mean like all those pairs we've done?"

"Yes, exactly like that. Without my concern those wouldn't have ever happened."

"That's only part of it. My planning is what really made it come through."

"Liar! I do more work than you. And I don't even need your help to do it. I could do it all myself if I wanted to."

"I doubt that. Without proper planning, all that's going to happen is disaster."

"What? You don't know anything. Without the desire to accomplish it, even with proper planning you can't get it done. If you want it enough, it should be possible."

"No it isn't. If you don't plan something, it'll all go wrong eventually. With the most perfect plan I could get anyone to fall for another."

"Fine then! Let's make a bet."

"A bet?"

"Yes a bet. I bet I could make someone fall for another without your help way better than you could do without my help."

"Fine then. It's a bet. Any consequences?"

"Hmm, I know. If I win, you have to tell me the real reason why you have a problem."

"Right and when you lose, you'll drop this curiosity of yours over my problem."

"Fine, it's a deal."

Mei raised her hand to shake and Xiang answered it. For the rest of the weekend, they rehearsed their lines and night time came and they both left for home. Sunday morning came and the both of them would search for suitable people to try and get together.

* * *

Xiang sleepishly got of bed and quickly got dressed. He ran downstairs where he quickly exited the house to avoid Arthur's "breakfast". Xiang didn't really know where to start searching so he wandered the city for anyone familiar or any potential candidates. After a few hours of looking at different shops he heard his stomach growl and he headed into a random café. The café he entered held a very uplifting atmosphere and also very energetic. The small shop was decorated with a European style decor. He took a seat and waited for a waiter to come by. Suddenly a very hyper and brown haired man came up.

"Hello! ~ And welcome. It's always nice to meet people don't you think. Oh my name is Antonio by the way. Wait, you must not want to hear me rant on, here's the menu. I recommend anything with tomato on it. Although all of them pale in comparison to my little tomato~…"

"Tomato-bastard! Will you stop bugging the customer and let him order!"

"Aww Romano, you don't want me paying so much attention to other people huh? It's okay to be jealous."

"What! I am not jealous you idiot. Now get back to work instead of messing around!"

"Alright~, my little tomato~. May I have your order now, sir?"

Xiang was a bit too distracted by the uproar that the two people created to look through the menu. He turned his attention back to the menu and looked through. Xiang selected the pasta and Antonio nodded happily, writing down the order and taking the menu and heading back into the kitchen. Xiang tried to relax but the bet with Mei was still on his mind. An Italian with an annoyed face appeared beside Xiang with a plate of pasta and placed it in front of him.

"Enjoy your meal. I also want to apologize for my stupid friend Antonio and also our main chef has the day off so the meal may not be as good as it is."

Xiang thanked the Italian and took a fork and began to eat his meal. Despite what the man had said, the pasta was fantastic. It was properly seasoned and still contained a lot of flavor for just your average pasta. Xiang quickly finished and asked for the bill. The Italian returned with the bill and Xiang paid, leaving a substantial tip.

"Did you enjoy your meal?" He asked.

"Yes, it was very good."

"Make sure you come back here again then. We're open on all days except close at 9 o'clock."

"I will make sure to do that. But your friend reminds me of my friends. She's a bit talkative as well."

The Italian took a seat in front of Xiang. "Is that so? Yeah, tomato-bastard is very annoying. But he can be very cool sometimes. Wait, why am I telling a stranger this?"

"Oh? Well my name is Xiang. There we're not strangers anymore if you introduce yourself."

"My name is Romano."

"An interesting name. So you were saying about your friend?"

"Hmm…well he's an interesting guy and maybe a bit too forward most of the times but he's a good guy."

"Sounds to me like you like him since your defending him."

"W-what! There's no way I would like that idiot."

Xiang mentally smiled, "Hmm you're an interesting person. I'll help you."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing. Just expect a few things in the future." Xiang got up from his seat and pushed the chair in. "Thanks again for the meal." Xiang left the restaurant and began to formulate his plan. He didn't think he would find a potential pair this quickly in the day.

* * *

Mei woke up late in the morning. She jumped out of bed since she realized that Xiang would gain the upper hand on her if she didn't act quickly. She quickly got ready and started to head downstairs before she was stopped.

"Mei."

"Yes? What is it Kiku-sama."

"I would like you to stay for a bit. We have guests."

"Really? But I have to go somewhere."

"I'm sure it could wait. It would be impolite to just stand up our guests."

Mei grudgingly agreed and when with Kiku to the kitchen where two people were sitting down. One was large with blond hair and blue eyes; he gave off an aura that demanded strictness and order. The other seemed to completely conflict with the other's personality. He had brown hair and hazel eyes; he had the feeling of completely cluelessness, laziness, cheerfulness, and seemed a bit hyper. Kiku told them that it would be better to meet in the living room so everyone moved toward it.

"Mei, I like to introduce Ludwig and Feliciano. You two, this is Mei."

"It's nice to meet you," announced Ludwig.

"Ve~ you're a cute girl. It's nice to meet you," announced Feliciano. Mei slightly blushed from the comment.

"Umm, it's nice to meet you two," replied Mei.

"So what were we talking about?" asked Feliciano.

"We were just making small talk. Like what happened to you Feliciano?" replied Kiku.

"Oh right. Most of the paintings I did got bought by a famous art auctioneer and he wanted me to personally go to the grand revealing of them."

"Is that so? It must be exciting."

"Ve~ it's very exciting. I tried to invite brother and Antonio but they are always playing with each other except brother yells a lot."

"I see. They must have a lot of fun over there, correct?"

"I don't think so. But I'm always eating pasta and gelato so I wouldn't really know."

"Feliciano! Learn your manners! You're now getting somewhere with your art so you should act more proper. That means no slacking off and to take care of yourself better," scolded Ludwig.

Feliciano's cheery face was replaced by a saddened face or troubled one.

"Now Ludwig, it's not good to yell at others. If he's doing well as he is then I think its okay for him to do such things."

"Ve~ thank you Kiku. But its okay, Ludwig is just concerned as always."

"I wouldn't have to be so concerned if you didn't always get into so much trouble!"

"But I know you'll be there to protect me."

"Damn it…I know I promised but I can't be there every time so I want to know that you can take care of yourself."

"It's okay Ludwig; if it's for you I'll definitely try my best."

"That somewhat relieves me."

An idea suddenly popped into Mei's head and thought to herself that Xiang would definitely lose the bet now. She had to think about this a little first though. There's most certainly an attraction between Feliciano and Ludwig. Ludwig seems like the type to be reserved and Feliciano was the more open type. So all she had to do was get Ludwig to open up right? And it's a done deal.

"So you two are good friends right?" asked Mei.

"Of course. We're best friends," announced Feliciano.

"Well, could you two come with me later tonight for something? I don't want to go alone."

"What about Kiku?" asked Ludwig.

"I apologize to all of you. I have to leave for work later and will be staying later as well."

"It's quite alright Kiku."

"Yeah! It'll be fun with the three of us. And we'll get to know you better. Sounds like fun."

"Then it's settled. I'll meet you guys here later today around 6-ish?"

"That's fine."

"Alright. Then I will see you guys later," chirped Mei.

"Okay then. Ludwig and I have to go to the art museum now. Ciao~"

Feliciano and Ludwig left after their farewell and Mei excused herself back to her room where she practiced her lines for the play but with the thought that she would win the bet the very same day.

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Hetalia. All rights go to Hidekaz Himaruya

All credit of North Korea OC goes to Lo-wah.

Author's note:

Sorry about the shortness of this chapter but if I were to continue the plot, it would become huge so I'm going to separate the part where they actually initiate their plan and the aftermath of it in the next chapter. So expect that to come in later this weekend or the beginning of the weekdays; depending on the mood I'm in. Reviews = motivation; which means me writing more and faster. Thank you to the readers and reviewers.


	8. Chapter 8 Disaster

Ch. 8 Disaster

The afternoon came and the two Asians anticipated their own success in the bet. Xiang had completed his plan to get Antonio and Romano together which in his eyes he thought was flawless. Mei was excitedly waiting for Feliciano and Ludwig to arrive and take them to a restaurant and have Ludwig confess to Feliciano which she thought will definitely succeed given the right environment. The time arrived and the two got dressed for their missions.

* * *

Mei wore a simple dress she had and waited quietly in the living room for the other two. She took out her phone to make sure that she wouldn't be waiting too long and just on cue, the door bell rang. She exited the house and went to the front gate and opened. The two were dressed nicely enough to go out on an outing but not too formal as well.

"Good afternoon Mei," greeted Ludwig.

"Ve~ you like nice," complimented Feliciano.

Mei blushed a bit, "Umm, thanks. So shall we go?"

The two men agreed and Mei followed them to the car. Ludwig sat in the driver's seat while Feliciano sat beside him and Mei in the back. Ludwig absolutely refused Feliciano to drive since it would probably endanger a lot of people's lives which is one of the only times that he would be dangerous. The trio drove to a little café somewhere in the center of town since Mei allowed the pair to choose where they wanted to eat but afterwards they would go take a walk in the flower gardens where she was familiar with. They entered the elegant café that held a European décor and she found a seat with the other two. A very spontaneous waiter showed up soon afterwards.

"Hola~ mis amigos. It's always nice to see you two, oh and you have a guest. Is there any occasion for you being here?"

"Hello Antonio. We're just here with our friend Mei. Her guardian is Kiku and she asked us to come with her to do some things."

"I see. Well she does somewhat carry that air of calmness that Kiku brings with him. She seems to be a very nice girl. Anyway, here's your menu's."

Ludwig nodded to the Spaniard and he stood by waiting to take their orders. Mei wasn't familiar with the restaurant so she ordered a simple plate of pasta. Ludwig wanted wrusts, whatever that was thought Mei, and Feliciano wanted a large bowl of pasta with plenty of everything. Antonio nodded and left soon after. The trio chatted with each other and what this really meant was Feliciano would talk rapidly and Ludwig and Mei would try to get something out of the chatter box. Their orders came soon enough, before Mei and Ludwig went crazy from the overload of nonsense. Mei was a bit surprised to see the server, who looked exactly like Feliciano only his eyes were opened and he carried a stricter attitude than Feliciano.

"Brother~ how have you been doing?"

"Oh, Feli. Some old, same old. Not much has happened by sides the usual. Who's your friend?" asked Romano as he pointed to Mei.

"Oh, she's Kiku's cousin. She asked us to join her this afternoon."

"Nice to meet you," announced Romano.

"Same."

"It's somewhat strange. You somehow remind me of another Asian I met earlier today. Although he didn't say much."

Mei was intrigued by this sudden news. "Could it have been Xiang? No it couldn't have been. The chances of that should be small. There are other Asians around here," thought Mei. "I'm sure it was just a coincidence," answered Mei.

"Hmm, well I guess you're right. Anyway, here are your orders." Romano then moved to place the food to their respective owners and Feliciano was about to begin an assault his bowl before Mei moved up and grabbed Feliciano, her excuse was that she needed him for something. The two stopped at the other side of the restaurant.

"Ehh, Mei-chan, why did you take me away from my pasta?"

"I'm sorry but I needed to talk to you for a second."

"Okay, what is it?"

"This might be blunt but do you like Ludwig, like really like him?"

Feliciano then turned a slight pink. "W-what? How did you figure that out?"

"So I'm right? Great!"

Feliciano looked dumb struck. "Anyway, if you like him, why don't you tell him?"

"B-because, what if he doesn't accept my feelings. And what if he doesn't respond back?"

"Don't worry! I'm sure things will take their course and you'll succeed."

"You think?"

"Of course. If two people did like each other, it shouldn't be a problem at all."

"Alright then."

The two walked back to the table and began to eat. Ludwig didn't question the reason why they were over there but he still held an air of suspicion. Mei was surprised at how much flavor a simple plate of pasta had but was too busy enjoying her meal to complain or make a comment. Mei was only half way through her plate when Feliciano asked for seconds of his huge bowl. Feliciano remained in his cheery attitude and oblivious to the other two consumers' shock. Mei tried to ignore the Italian's assault on the pasta but it was hard not to notice when a person is gorging themselves with food that should be enough to fill three people.

Mei finished her plate and gave Feliciano cough in his direction as a sign. Feliciano gave a nod in response and turned to Ludwig who raised his eyebrow in curiosity. Feliciano started to flush a bit and Ludwig started to get nervous.

"Umm, Ludwig, do you like me?"

Ludwig was shocked to hear the question and a slight flush appeared on his face. Mei watched silently as she anticipated his response. "Umm, of course I like you."

"But I mean more than friends…"

Ludwig became even tenser. "I-I…I can't say."

"W-what? Why?" demanded the Italian.

"I just can't say."

Feliciano's eyes became sullen as he stood up from his seat. "That's just fine then…" Feliciano lowered his head so shadows hide his face and he ran out of the café. Mei was completely shocked about the transaction that just occurred. Mei turned around to see Feliciano gone already and Ludwig frozen in his seat.

Mei also got up from her seat and turned all her attention to Ludwig. "Why couldn't you answer him?" she asked.

"You don't understand. It's not that I didn't want to say it but…I just couldn't. Not right now."

"Are you insane! Do you know what he must be feeling right now? Go after him already!"

"I'm sorry Mei but I can't do that. Please understand. For one reason, it's impossible to catch him when he runs for real and two; I need to be alone as well."

"Fine then. Just to let you know, your stubbornness is a cause for this." Mei stood up from her seat and placed her part of the bill on the table. She walked out of the café and began to wander the city. Gathering her thoughts her legs did all the walking while she, herself, thought.

"Could this be my fault too," she thought. "I am the one who convinced Feliciano that it would all be alright but I didn't take Ludwig's feelings into account at all. Maybe Xiang was right. Planning really is necessary."

Before she knew it, Mei found herself in the park she wanted to walk in that day. The field of flowers gave off a very sweet scent but she was too involved in her thoughts to pay much mind to them. She went to her favorite spot, the plum blossom tree in the center of the entire field and it was surrounded with red peonies. She quietly lay against the tree and noticed the sun setting in as she drifted off into sleep.

* * *

Xiang looked at the clock and the time was now seven. He took out his black duangua and golden sash and quickly pulled them on. He moved swiftly and left the house, leaving Arthur a note that he'd be back later. Xiang's plan was a simple one, since he knew that both liked each other, all he had to do was get the setting right and let things take their course. He arrived at the European café and entered and took a seat. Antonio came over and was surprised to Xiang again so soon. Regardless, Antonio gave his usual long greeting and took his order.

Xiang decided to order something different this time and wanted to ravioli. Antonio nodded and left. Xiang looked around the café again, this time it was filled more yet something in the atmosphere felt off. He found the center of this disturbance which seemed to be a tall German who was sitting by himself. But there were other plates around so unless he's a heavy eater, thought Xiang, some others must've been there. Xiang decided he would investigate this as soon as he accomplished his plan. Romano came over with his meal and sat down across from him.

"I didn't think I'd be seeing you back so soon."

"I told you I'd be back, didn't I?"

"I guess you did but I still don't know what you were talking about."

"All in due time my friend."

Romano gave Xiang a very questioning look but ignored it and left for the kitchen. Xiang quickly ate his meal and left the money on the table. He looked at his watch and saw that it was about eight and the café was nearly empty. Xiang pulled out a note from his sleeve and placed it on the table and walked away but he hid behind a plant to see what would occur.

Antonio came to clean off the table and give Romano his share of the tip when he noticed the piece of paper Xiang left behind. Curiously, he opened the note. The note read:

_Your little tomato wants to tell you something_

Antonio started at the note and wondered about its validity. He turned around and headed for the kitchen as Romano was slicing up some vegetables. "Lovi, is there something you want to tell me?"

"What? I don't know what you're talking about."

Antonio kept the note in his pocket but he wouldn't give up until he learned the truth of this note. "I'm just wondering… if there was anything specific or special you wanted to tell me."

"Dammit, I said I didn't have anything to say to you."

"Are you sure? Like something about us, maybe?"

A slight blush appeared on Romano's face. "I don't have anything to say and I don't want to say anything."

"Come on Lovi, I know when you're lying to me. Why can't you tell me?"

"Because tomato-bastard! I don't want to!"

"Then what would make you want to?"

"I don't know. Just not like this or when I keep on saying that I DON'T WANT TO!"

Antonio gave up then. Romano would always be this stubborn. "Fine…I understand I guess." Antonio quietly went back to serving tables and the regular customers were thrown off by his sudden lack of enthusiasm. Xiang watched in silence but he heard everything that the two said to each other. In his mind he greatly regretted what he just caused. Completely useless in this situation, Xiang quietly left the café and noticed it becoming dark.

Xiang wanted to go to the one place where he could actually find some peace and have some time to think over what happened. "Was the plan too simple?" he thought to himself. "Maybe Mei was right, if the people and planner don't have the passion for such things to happen then it wouldn't be possible." Xiang came to the place and the breathed in the scent of the flowers and covered the fields. He walked quietly across the fields when he saw Mei's favorite spot on the hill. He walked up to it and to his surprise saw the sleeping girl lying against the tree. She looked so calm but something seemed to be troubling her. He then noticed that it was getting cold and he took of his jacket and placed it over the girl. He turned to a peony and placed it in Mei's chocolate hair. He walked around the tree and leaned himself onto it. He stared up into the night sky, wondering what's been happening and trying to find the answers he's been missing.

* * *

Mei woke up and rubbed her eyes when she noticed something fell off of her. "A jacket?" she thought. She looked at it more closely and saw that it was a duangua and brought it closer to herself. The scent smelled very familiar and she realized that the only person could have been her best friend. She stood up and looked into the stars.

"Xiang…" she whispered.

Mei took her cell phone from her purse and looked at the time; nearly nine. She stood up and began to walk back home but walked a bit faster since it was getting late. Xiang, being right behind the tree, saw her leaving and followed silently behind her, wanting to make sure she would be safe. Mei walked through the center of town and noticed that it was extremely quiet. She quickened her pace as she heard other's voices and footsteps that grew louder with each passing moment. She slightly turned her head as she saw a group of men heading towards her and she tried to lose them by taking a series of turns, wanting to make sure, they wouldn't find out where she lived. However she made a mistake and ended up facing a dead end of an alley way. "Perfect," she thought. "Like this scene doesn't scream, 'you're going to get it." Mei turned around and saw the group of men heading toward her. The distance was shortened to a mere three feet.

"Hello there," greeted one of the men. "Are you lost?"

"I'm doing just fine."

"Doesn't look like that to me. Why don't we help you?"

"I don't think so. So if you could just go away, that'd be great."

"Now we can't just leave a girl here all alone, what if something were to happen to you."

"I think you know the answer to that," answered Mei, sarcastically.

"Then shall we give you that answer?" asked the man as he approached Mei.

The man reached for Mei's shoulder when with quick reflexes she grabbed him and threw him into the wall. "I don't think so," she answered. Mei began to make a break for it but was blocked by the other men. She tried to break through them but was abruptly thrown into the wall and pinned.

"Feisty little girl aren't you? Guess we'll have to fix that." The man moved closer to Mei until the screams of the other men turned his attention. All the man could see was a shadow that moved at an incredible speed, throwing the other men into the ground and the wall. Suddenly, he himself was thrown into the wall by Mei, since he completely lost focus.

Mei ran over to the shadow and they leaned onto each other back to back.

"Are you okay?"

"When did you get here?"

"Answer me first."

"Yeah I'm fine. Now you."

"I just happened to be passing by."

"A likely story."

"Could we talk about this later after I kill these guys for trying to do things to you?"

"Not if I kill them first."

The two then broke apart and started their comeback against the men. The men were no match for the two however. Mei moved gracefully as she spun around and kicked the men into each other and mercilessly stomping on their bodies as they lied on the ground. Xiang moved with speed and strength as he struck the men at their chests and faces. The sounds of bones breaking could be heard with each strike he made to the men but Xiang made sure not to kill them on impact or else that would just cause a lot of problems for the two Asians. The fight or rather slaughter fest was ended quickly as Xiang and Mei walked out of the alley way untouched.

"Well that was easy," exclaimed Mei.

"I don't think so. I saw how you got thrown into that wall."

"Shut up, it wasn't fair, I was completely out numbered and wearing this dress."

"Your excuses don't matter. But I'm glad you're safe."

"Yeah, thanks. So what were you really doing around here?"

"Just following you to make sure you didn't get into trouble."

"What! You stalker."

"I was not. I was just walking around, coming back from my plan and I found you by the tree."

"Oh? Thanks for the jacket though. I guess you want it back?"

"Keep it for now. I wouldn't want you catching a cold or anything."

"Thanks… so your plan? I guess you won then."

"No I didn't. I failed."

"Mr. Perfect plan failed? This is a surprise."

"And from the sound of your voice, I guess you failed too?"

"Yeah I did."

The two of them went on to explain what their plan was and what had transpired. "So…what do we do now?"

"We fix this."

"Together?"

"Of course. We can't succeed without each other it seems."

"I guess I'm fine with that."

The two reached Mei's house and Xiang said good night to her. Before he left however, Mei returned his jacket and gave him a quick hug which surprised Xiang. And even more of a surprise to Mei was that he returned it.

"Thanks for saving me."

"It's wasn't a problem at all."

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Hetalia. All rights go to Hidekaz Himaruya

A/N:

So the results of Xiang and Mei's plan is revealed and the result is the title of the chapter but now they're working together again. I wanted to create these failures to make Xiang and Mei realize that they need each other more than they thought but I didn't want to make those two fail in their plans. But they will succeed next time, together though. Also I wanted to create that little fight scene just to show you guys that they can fight. Remember, reviews mean a quicker update. I hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter and thank you to the readers and reviewers. Next update should be within two-three days. Also happy birthday to China!


	9. Chapter 9 Simple yet sweet

Ch. 9 Simple yet sweet

Team work was an important thing. Xiang and Mei realized this during the weekend of their little bet/ disaster. The week days began yet again and they were heavily preoccupied by the play since the grand opening was this week on Saturday. There was just a slight problem, the kissing scene. As Mei feared earlier, the play was not re-edited at all so she would have to kiss Hyung but there were always problems. This wasn't Mei's fault though; rather it was a silent Asian's fault, though no one knew it. Every time they were about to commit the kiss, something would just happen to fall near them, causing them to be startled and not be able to do the scene. Xiang was sneaky in these acts, he didn't let anyone catch him or else they would most certainly throw him out. One day it would be falling props, another would be a random trap door opening up and causing Hyung to fall through it (he always remained uninjured, much to Xiang's dismay) and another would be fire crackers flying toward the Korean.

When they were not rehearsing, they would be playing their instruments and planning. The instruments part was mainly Xiang though, since he was an understudy, he would be playing with the orchestra during the nights of the play if he wasn't going to participate. Mei was obviously excluded from this since of her main role but she still practiced with Xiang just to make sure she didn't fall behind. If they weren't doing any of these other things, they were planning to get together the two Italians, Spaniard, and German.

They found this to be difficult however. Xiang tried to gather as much information as he could on the four but always came up short. Ludwig couldn't be studied that well. He was silent and stern and didn't reveal anything unless he wanted to. Romano was just as stubborn as usual. Even though he actually talked, he had nothing romantic in the nature to say. Feliciano and Antonio are definitely affectionate enough to confess but both were still hurt from the rejection or lack of words to be in their cheery manner.

Xiang and Mei thought of the perfect plan for Ludwig and Feliciano. Since Ludwig was the type to not say anything when the situation wasn't right, they would create the perfect romance scene and make sure to lock all exits so Feliciano or Ludwig couldn't escape. Xiang again had to get the legal documents for this but it was simple when you're the brother of a very powerful man (though Xiang still doesn't treat him as such). Mei asked to borrow Yao's shop once again and promised not to destroy anything. Romano and Antonio's case was different. It's not like they would run away from each other but the problem was getting Romano to confess and the only thing they could think of was Antonio doing something that would make Romano confess so…Xiang is going to have to play the bad guy, much to his own dismay.

Friday came and the play would be tomorrow night. The two didn't want to wait any longer than they did to initiate their plan so as soon as school was over, they began. There were no rehearsals after school since the director wanted them to rest before the grand opening. Since Mei was the only one familiar with Ludwig and Feliciano, she would be the one to get them together. She found out where they lived by looking through Kiku's address book. It was actually really simple to get them to come to Yao's shop. Xiang printed out two coupons that promised all you can eat pasta and all you can drink beer. Xiang was dumbstruck that it would actually work.

Like what the two did with Yao and Ivan, they made sure there was no one else in the shop and took out some candles. Yao wanted to help them this time and would be the one to manage the counter. They decided that they would both play their string instruments this time, since this would also be good practice for Xiang. Xiang went behind the rice screens that Yao wanted to keep and Mei was the one who would lock the doors. They waited.

Ludwig burst through the door and started looking for any sign of beer. They placed a large cup of it near the counter of the shop. Ludwig walked over to it and called for anyone. Out came Yao from the counter and told Ludwig to enjoy. Ludwig thanked the Chinese man and started to drink. Yao smiled and then told him that he would step out for a bit. Ludwig just nodded and looked around the shop. Suddenly Feliciano burst through the door looking for pasta. Ludwig turned around to see Feliciano and the latter saw Ludwig. Both were silent. Mei took this chance to sneak over and turn off all the lights and lock the door. Feliciano became frightened and ran over to Ludwig.

"Feliciano? What are you doing here?"

"I got this coupon that said there would be all you can eat pasta here. Why are you here?"

"I got a coupon saying that there would be beer."

"I see. I thought you were here for another reason…"

"Look, Feli…."

"No, I understand Ludwig. You just don't feel the same I guess." The Italian turned around and began to walk away. Ludwig grabbed his wrist, surprising the Italian.

"No. It's not that at all."

Feliciano looked at him with a confused gaze. "Look Feliciano, I may not show it as you want to but I really do care about you."

"Then what are you saying?" Xiang took this chance to begin to play his violin; each stroke of the strings remained constant and soft. Each note he played seemed to reflect the intensity of each word spoken by the two.

A blush slightly appeared on Ludwig's face and his speech became a little shaken. "W-what I'm s-saying is that I-I like you too. Maybe even more than that. Despite how you always seem to act and your actions don't really do you justice but I would say that I love you."

The only sounds that could be heard were the soft breaths of the two adults and Xiang's violin after what Ludwig said. Feliciano didn't know what to say as he stood there completely frozen by Ludwig's sudden confession. In just another moment, his trance broke and he threw himself onto the German and tightly hugged him. Ludwig quickly but lightly hugged the Italian and they stared at each other in the eye for the longest moment. Each was trying to see if the other truly meant what they felt for each other just from looking through their eyes. The two shared a soft and gentle kiss before they pulled away to see each other's face. Mei then flicked the lights back on and the two new loves turned to see the girl. She held a large grin on her face as she congratulated the two. Xiang ended his playing and stepped out from behind the rice screens.

"I should have known you would still do something about this Mei," answered Ludwig.

"Of course, you expect me to let something like that happen right before me and me not to do anything about it? Not a chance."

"Well I'm glad you did."

"Ve~ so am I. Thank you so much," commented Feliciano. "Also, who's your friend? I don't think we've met him before."

"Oh, that's right. Ludwig. Feliciano. This is my best friend, Xiang."

"It's nice to meet you Xiang," greeted Ludwig.

Feliciano went up to Xiang and started to shake his hand. "It's very nice to meet you Xiang. Thank you for playing your violin. It was very good."

Xiang just nodded and said it was nice to meet them. He took out his cell phone and saw that the sun would set in another hour and he showed Mei this. She scrambled to the back and took out a picnic basket and she grabbed Xiang and ran out of the shop while saying goodbye to the couple.

"He seems like a nice boy," commented Ludwig.

"I agree but he seems more silent than Kiku. Do you think he's Mei's boyfriend?"

"It wouldn't be surprised if they were but I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't either."

"I don't get it."

* * *

Mei and Xiang ran to the café where Romano and Antonio worked at, making sure they got there before closing time. For some reason on Fridays, the head chef would always let everyone go home early. The two had just arrived at the café when they saw Antonio locking the doors. He finished his task and turned to the two teens, surprised by their appearance.

"Oh hola you two. I'm sorry, we've just closed so-"

"That's not why we're here Antonio," interrupted Mei.

"Oh? Then why are you here?"

"We were just wondering where Romano was."

Antonio stiffened from hearing the Italian's name. "He left before me so he's probably heading home."

"Is that so?" Mei nodded toward Xiang. Xiang returned the sign and apologized to Antonio for leaving and he then ran off. "Could you accompany Antonio? I don't want to be walking in the city alone at these hours."

"Sure, I don't see why not."

"Alright then, follow me." Mei had her cell phone out for the plan. When Xiang would find Romano then they would head to that location and the plan could actually begin.

Xiang began to scan the city for signs of the Italian. From the information that gathered on Feliciano and since Romano was his twin brother, they should be living together; using this information, Xiang plotted the route that a person would usually take to get from the café to their home. And just like he predicted, he saw Romano walking down the street. Xiang took a moment to take a breath since the thing he was about to do was probably going to get him into a lot of trouble if he were to get caught. Xiang took out a white mask and placed it on his face. Xiang then quickly sprinted into an alley way while texting the location to Mei. Xiang silently entered an alley, waiting for the Italian to come by and thinking to himself that this was a very ridiculous plan. After another moment, Romano came in sight and the masked Xiang grabbed and pulled Romano into the alley, pinning him against the brick wall.

"W-what the hell! Let go of me you basta-" Xiang muffled his cries with a clean rag that he brought. Romano attempted to struggle but Xiang was far stronger than the Italian. And almost perfectly on cue Mei and Antonio came into sight. Before anything could be said, Antonio charged the masked Xiang and attempted to knock him out but Xiang skillfully dodged the punch and jumped back. Romano was set free and he ran behind Antonio.

"What in the world were you doing to Lovi!"

Xiang remained completely silent to the Spaniard and remembered that he had to make this look convincing. From the corner of Antonio's head, he could see Mei giving him a thumbs up and Xiang rolled his eyes. Antonio charged Xiang again and tried to hit him. Xiang effortlessly dodged every blow he tried to hit him with. Realizing Xiang was making this go on for too long, he allowed Antonio a mercy hit though he tried to make it as convincing as possible that it actually hurt him. A punch was thrown and it hit Xiang straight in the gut. Xiang faked gasped and jumped back. He then proceeded to his escape and ran down the other end of the alley way. Antonio ran after him but Xiang had already hidden himself.

Antonio went back to Romano and checked to make sure he was okay. "Stop it Antonio…I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I will never forgive that bastard if he hurt you."

"Yes I'm sure. I guess I should say thanks. So…thank you for saving me."

Antonio pulled the Italian into a gentle hug. "I would do anything for you my little tomato."

"Shut tomato-bastard," muttered Romano.

Mei ran over to them and asked if everything was alright. Both of the guys nodded and Mei exclaimed a breath of relief. Mei then asked the two if they would continue to accompany her and they agreed. Antonio didn't want to break his word to Mei and he didn't want to leave Romano alone (more like Romano didn't want to be alone). Mei sneakily began to lead them toward the park and to the hill where she set up the picnic. As planned they arrived to the hill and the two were surprised to see the meal set out. Mei explained that she had this set up previously and didn't want the things to go to waste.

"I guess we might as well enjoy ourselves for a bit," said Antonio.

"Fine, but I won't enjoy eating with you."

"Right," replied Antonio, sarcastically.

The trio sat down and took out some things from the basket. There were a variety of foods that Xiang and Mei had made, including sandwiches, juice, chicken, and especially tomatoes. Mei quietly ate her sandwich in peace while Romano and Antonio were arguing over the tomatoes. After Mei finished her sandwich Xiang appeared from behind her and surprised the other two.

"Xiang? I thought you had to go do something," asked Antonio.

"I did but I finished."

"Is that so? Was it really that quick and easy?"

"Yes, yes and no."

"I see, well why don't you join us?"

"I can't. I need to take Mei home."

"Oh really? Should we come with you?"

"No it's fine." Grabs Mei's hand, and starts to walk off. "You guys can eat the rest for yourself." As soon as the pair got far enough away, they snuck behind a tree and waited.

"It's a pretty nice view of the sunset," commented Antonio.

"I guess so."

"Do you want the last tomato?"

"Huh? I thought we agreed you would get it?"

"Well, it just looks like you want it more than me."

"But you love tomatoes and you were pretty adamant on having it a moment ago."

"Yeah but I thought about it and I want you to have it. Since I love you more."

Romano flushed and took the tomato and started to slowly eat it. Antonio chuckled and just watched Romano and the sunset. Romano finished the tomato and sat by quietly with Antonio, with silence being the only thing that separates them. Unexpectedly, Romano was the one to break that silence.

"Antonio…I'm sorry."

The Spaniard turned to him with a questioning look. "What do you mean?"

"I'm sorry that I'm always so stubborn and I'm sorry that I never gave you a proper answer."

"It's alright. That's just the way you are and I couldn't ask anymore than that besides, you're still my little tomato."

"It's not alright. Not for you and not for me either."

"Could you explain that?"

"What I mean to say is that it doesn't just hurt you for me to say those things. I don't know why I say those things but I just do. The truth is…I really love you too."

It took only a moment for Antonio to register those words and before anything else could be said, he pulled Romano into a hug and the Italian hugged back. They slowly separated and shared a simple yet sweet kiss. They both smiled and held onto each other as they watched the falling sun.

Xiang and Mei smiled and left the two alone as they headed home. The two were silent as they walked home but they felt incredibly accomplished for the things they've done. They almost reached Mei's house when they began to talk.

"So now that's all done. Now there's only the play to worry about right?" commented Xiang.

"Yep. Still…there's that one scene where I still haven't practiced with Hyung."

"Oh that. Don't worry; I'm sure things will be alright."

"You say that Xiang but I'm still scared. Even if we can pull of that scene, there's a problem with that…"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I've never kissed anyone before."

Xiang raised in eyebrow in suspicion but realized that she was telling the truth from the look on her face. "Oh, well…I don't know what to say about that."

"Come on Xiang. Can't you tell me how it's like?"

"I can't. I haven't kissed anyone before either."

"Really? That doesn't seem like you. I'm sure you could get any girl you wanted, you're awesome like that."

"Thanks but it's not about that. I'm just waiting for the special someone."

"Don't worry; I'm sure you'll find her. This is a big world after all." The two reached Mei's house and she waved goodbye to Xiang. Xiang began his own trip home but with the conversation still in his mind.

"She's closer than you think," he answered to himself.

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Hetalia. All rights go to Hidekaz Himaruya

All credit of North Korea OC goes to Lo-wah.

A/N:

Well that chapter is done finally. The two fixed their mistakes in the last one and everyone's happy, well almost everyone anyway, for now. ^-^ Sorry if I'm not able to update as quickly, school is keeping me busy and I've been really tired lately. Reviews are greatly appreciated and maybe they'll help keep me motivated. Thanks to the reviews and readers. See you again in the next update.


	10. Chapter 10 Unexpected Dramas

Ch. 10 Unexpected Dramas

Saturday morning came by quickly as Mei nervously went through her morning thinking about tonight's play. Kiku tried to calm her down but it had no effect whatsoever. Mei would have to leave around two for the play's final rehearsal before the play itself which was just making sure that they ran through it without any problems but there was only one scene that bothered Mei. The scene she talked about with Xiang last night which was making her very nervous and flushing furiously whenever she thought about it. Xiang was having an opposite feeling about the play yet somewhat similar. He completely despised the fact that Mei would have to kiss Hyung. Therefore to get rid of some of this rage, he mediated alone in the silence of the backyard. As Xiang silently meditated, small little birds would land at his side and some on him and Arthur watched by in the house. Arthur knew there was nothing he could do about Xiang's emotional state currently and there was no point in him trying to stop him unless he wanted to a focus point for his rage.

Two o'clock came, Xiang and Mei meet up at the school as they waited for the teacher to come out and give them directions. She started to do a role call and almost everyone was accounted for but this amount of people made her nervous. The problem was that Hyung and Yong Soo weren't here yet. Suddenly Yong Soo burst through the door in a frantic sprint to the teacher. Everyone expected Hyung to shortly follow afterwards but no one else came. Yong Soo went to the teacher and whispered something to her.

"What! Are you serious! This can't be!" shouted the teacher. Everyone looked at her nervously and wondered what Yong Soo told her.

"I'm telling the truth. I wouldn't lie about something like this," answered Yong Soo.

The teacher's face deepened and she looked very strained. She walked out to the front of the stage and had a microphone with her. "Everyone, we have some very tragic news. Yesterday the two brothers Yong Soo and Hyung were apparently rock-climbing and Yong Soo almost fell but Hyung was able to save him at the cost of him being the one that got injured. He twisted his arm and tore some of the muscles in his arm and is in the hospital receiving treatment currently so he cannot come to the play."

Whispers started to fill the theatre about how the play might have to be canceled and about how terrible Hyung must feel. Mei was worried and felt sorry for Hyung but more importantly if the play didn't go on, she wouldn't get her full hours. Xiang mentally grinned at Hyung's displacement although he did feel some sympathy for the guy.

"Fear not everyone, for we still do have our understudy. Xiang, please stand up and present yourself."

Xiang stood up and everyone turned to see him. Again whispers started to go on through the theatre. Another thought just popped into Xiang's mind at the moment he stood up; if he had to be the one to play Romeo then…all the things that came with that part fell on him which meant he would be the one kissing Mei. At this thought Xiang flushed furiously and Mei seemed to realize this too as she blushed along with him. The teacher clapped her hands together to get everyone's attention and told them all that we would rehears as much as we could with our new Romeo and they only had less than four hours to do this. Everyone started to scramble and head to the back stage to get ready and started enacting their parts. They would focus on the parts that involved Romeo since this would be a different actor and the ones that didn't involve him were to be left alone.

The rehearsals had to be done quickly but also perfectly as well. To everyone's surprise, Xiang was doing far better than anyone could have hoped for. Xiang had to thank his rehearsals with Mei for that. The group had finally reached the final act to practice when the manager came in and told everyone the play would begin in another half hour. Rehearsals had to stop so that everyone could get into character and costume. The assistants would go out and start to accept or sell tickets. Everyone went to their dressing rooms and placed their costumes on. Xiang felt somewhat uncomfortable with the sudden change of attire; he expected that he would only have to change into a tail coat suit and instead he was wearing an old English outfit. He waited at the side of the stage as people began to enter the theatre.

"Xiang?" Xiang turned around to see Mei in her costume which made him slightly blush. The costume fit her well and complimented her features. "How do I look?"

"Beautiful," he commented. Mei blushed at the comment and told him that he didn't look so bad himself. Xiang smiled and they laughed with each other for a bit.

"Do you think this will go well? I mean, we didn't even get to practice the last act."

"Don't worry; we've done this over a hundred times together, I'm sure we'll do fine. We just have to put all the practice out there."

"I don't know how you can remain so calm in all this but I'm glad someone can do it."

"It's nothing really. I just know what I have to do and I do it. Being with you will make this more fun though."

"Same here. Well, it's about to begin, let's go do this."

The music began to play and the curtain rose. The narrator did his part and the play began. The beginning was going smoothly as everyone spoke their lines perfectly and with the proper amount of emotion. Xiang made his debut and made it very convincing that he was heartbroken which surprised many of our class mates since Xiang usually never shows his emotions. Some of the other girls were eyeing Xiang and Mei felt somewhat annoyed by this but more importantly to her she would have to kiss Xiang already as the end of Act I came close. She walked onto the stage and began to play her part. Further into the act the two finally meet and Xiang's acting seemed to give off more than what everyone thought. The admiration in his voice seemed to be true and some truly believed this. The ball was over and the two meet at the center of the stage. It seemed as though everyone had vanished and only they remained, gazing at each other. They approached the other and said their lines without any error. They closed the distance even more as their hearts began to pound as they got closer and closer. Within that moment, they shared a kiss. It seemed to last an eternity before they parted, each in a daze. The two remained silent as the orchestra's music broke them of their trance and they continued and finished their lines before the act ended for the both of them. When they took a break for the next act and they went to their dressing rooms, Mei blushed furiously and she held her hands to her lips. For Xiang the feeling still lasted and he remembered it as if it only occurred seconds before.

The rest of the play went on fairly quickly as Romeo and Juliet go married, Romeo got incriminated and had been banished, and Juliet took the sleeping potion. The final act was halfway through as Xiang had just reached the catacombs where Mei rested in her fake slumber. Xiang says his lines and drinks the potion and gives Mei a swift kiss before falling dead. Soon Mei awakens and does her part and with a final ending thrust the knife into her abdomen. The play soon ends with everyone resolving their feud. The curtains begin to fall and from some of the audiences, soft tears could be heard and applause exploded throughout the theatre as the lights came back on and the curtain raised as everyone gave a bow. The assistants began to clean up the props and things everyone used as everyone got dressed back into their normal clothes for the after party.

The party began and the time was around nine o'clock. Xiang and Mei stood side by side, silently, neither one of them looking at each other. The tension in the air was so thick that even the most cheery students were replaced by bothered faces. The teacher rose her cup in the air and congratulated everyone on a wonderful performance. Mei took a drink and looked over to Xiang who was still looking into the air.

"Xiang…" Xiang turned to her but couldn't look at her in the eye. "Great job umm, so how do you feel now?"

"I feel a bit relieved that it's all over but umm you know…those scenes…"

"Ehh, yeah, it was all just in the act right? I mean, it was all for the play, right?"

"Umm, yeah. It didn't mean a thing."

"Yeah…so that was our first kiss basically though."

"And?"

"Well you were a better kisser than I thought you would be," she teased.

Xiang blushed, "How would you know then? You don't have any experience either."

"Haha, I'm just messing with you."

The two friends laughed out their worries and tried to enjoy the party as much as they could. Just then a familiar group of blond headed men was seen by Xiang. He walked over to them, shortly followed by Mei, and Xiang saw the group that seemed so familiar. They turned around and their faces brightened considerably and they went over to him. One was Arthur, and the other two looked incredibly similar with only a few differences to tell them apart.

"Xiang! Congratulations on the play. I thought you were just going to be playing your violin but who knew you would be playing the male lead. I am so proud of you," exclaimed Arthur.

"Thanks."

The other two blond headed males came forward and one of them exploded with talk. "Wow that was a long play but I liked the part where they were fighting. That was kind of cool. Oh Artie, where can I guy get a hamburger around here?"

"Be quiet you git! Sorry about Alfred, Xiang. You know how he gets." Xiang nodded. Xiang then turned his attention to the more silent twin and began a small conversation.

"That was an excellent performance Xiang. Is that your friend there?" he asked as he pointed to Mei.

"Yeah Matt, she's my best friend Mei."

"Oh, well she seems like a nice girl."

"She is but she can be a bit…overbearing at sometimes."

"Hey! What's that suppose to mean Xiang!" exclaimed Mei.

"Nothing."

"Liar!"

The two began to bicker, meanwhile Matthew watched quietly from the background with Arthur while Alfred was searching for something greasier to eat.

"It was really nice of you and Al to come watch Xiang's play with me," commented Arthur.

"It was nothing. I wanted to spend some time with you after all and see Xiang again."

"Really? Well it was nice spending time with you again too."

The party ended around 10:30 and everyone began to leave for home. Mei said that she would be getting a ride from Kiku so it'd be fine if Xiang left first. Xiang rode home with everyone else. He and Matt talked about what's happened since they last saw each other. The two were somewhat close because both were silent-ish and they helped each other with some things back then.

"So Xiang, you don't seem to have changed much since we last met."

"I could say the same for you."

"I think I've become a bit more noticeable. Also I don't remember ever meeting that friend of yours."

"Oh well, we met a long time ago, I think it was a few months after you left for Canada, so about eight years."

"That's surprisingly long. You were only ten if I remember correctly and arrived to Arthur's house when you were eight. Must've been good to make such a good friend."

"It was and it is. It seems like only just yesterday we became friends."

"Is that so? Could I ask how you guys became friends anyway?"

"Yes it is and I don't mind. Well like I said earlier, it was after a few months since you left. I was really alone you know and it was pretty quiet without anyone to talk to. One day at school, I was walking and I saw a girl lying under a tree, crying…

* * *

I walked up to the girl and I asked her what was wrong. She only looked up for a moment to look at me before she told me to just go away. I sat down next to her as she continued to cry but she didn't tell me to go away again. She stopped crying and lifted her head to me.

"Why are you still here?" she asked.

"Because I want to know why you're crying."

"It doesn't concern you. You probably wouldn't understand anyway."

"You don't know unless you try."

"Fine…my parents. They're gone."

"I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry? You can't possibly understand…"

"What you feel?" I finished. "I know what you're going through because my parents died two years ago."

"Huh? You mean that you too?" I nodded. "I'm sorry I said all that to you. I didn't know."

"It's alright. I might not be able to bring back your parents or the void that they left but I can say that with time it gets better. You just need good people around you to support you."

"Really? Can I be your friend then?"

"I don't mind."

"Thanks."

* * *

"…With that short little conversation we became friends I guess. At first I just wanted to help but as I got to know her I guess I was just trying to keep her from being alone with those feelings."

"You're just so nice Xiang."

"I just did what anyone would have done."

"No Xiang, you're just saying that. No one could've done what you did."

"Hmm, I guess."

The group returned home and they all went to the living room. Arthur offered to make everyone something to eat but everyone at the same time said no. Matthew instead offered to make some pancakes and everyone but Alfred agreed because he wanted hamburgers. Matthew then went into the kitchen and Arthur volunteered to help. Xiang was skeptic about the idea but was reassured by the fact that Matt would keep him out of trouble. Xiang and Alfred then got into an argument about who was a better video gamer. They decided to settle it by playing on the Xbox.

Matthew got out the ingredients for the pancakes and made sure that everything was ready. Arthur stood by and made sure that Matthew wouldn't go without assistance but he assured him that he was quite capable of cooking everything himself.

"So how have you been Arthur?"

"Oh well it's been going okay I guess. It's just business and all and going up against that company."

"Don't worry; I'm sure you'll be able to surpass them."

"Thanks. That means a lot coming from you."

"It isn't a problem. Also, do you know that girl with Xiang?"

"Who? Oh Mei. She seems alright but I don't want here around here."

"Why is that?"

"She's the cousin of the head of our rival company, so I don't want her around here, much less around Xiang."

"Oh come on, she hasn't done anything wrong you know. Don't be so prejudice against her."

"I can't help it."

"Hmm, well there's no way I'm going to be able to change your mind."

"Anyway, how have you been? I've missed you."

"I've been fine. I made a really good friend. And that's sweet."

"So Matthew, you would say that we're close, right?"

"Definitely," exclaimed Matt. Matt began to pour his batter onto an oiled pan.

"And would you say that I'm likeable?"

"Hmm, yeah. I would say so, why do you ask?"

"Well it's because I wanted to tell you…"

A large crash resounded from the living room and Arthur stopped short in his sentence. He then ran into the living room, worried that Alfred broke something again.

"Alfred! What did you break this time!"

"What? I didn't do anything. We have company."

"Huh?" Arthur then turned to the door and there he stood with his silver white hair and red piercing eyes.

"Kesesese! The awesome me is here so the fun can finally start!"

"Gilbert, what the bloody hell are you doing here? And how did you get in?"

"I broke through your door, what else? I smelled Mattie's delicious pancakes cooking so I came over."

"W-what? Why on Earth did you have to break my door? And how did you smell pancakes from wherever you were?"

"Because ore-sama has to make an awesome entrance and your door was in the way. And I can smell those things from anywhere."

"What makes no sense you git! Next time you come, knock instead of breaking other people's doors!"

"You don't have to be such a wet blanket. I was just having fun."

"Grr, I am not. I am telling you that you need to be more considerate of other people's property!"

"Kesesese, okay Artie."

Matt then walked into the room with several plates each with a large stack of pancakes. "Pancakes are served. Oh Gil, I didn't know you were coming over."

Gilbert's face brightened up even more (if that was possible) and he ran over to Matt and put his arm around him. "Mattie! How are you? You should have told me you were going to make pancakes and were at Arties' house."

Matt began to blush a bit from the contact. "I well; we were watching Xiang's play and met up back here. I decided to make something to eat since we didn't want Arthur to cook."

"Is that so? Why didn't you invite me then?"

"I uhh, I didn't know if you wanted to come, I mean it was a play."

"What? If it's with you, of course I would like to come and since I never met this Xiang that you mentioned, even more awesome."

"Oh, well I'm sorry for not inviting you then."

"No problem. I get to spend time with you now though."

"Gil, stop harassing Matt," exclaimed Arthur.

"What? I am not harassing him. I'm just talking to him," retorted Gil.

"Well stop bothering him so he can get those plates out of his hands."

"Well he doesn't seem to mind it. Right Mattie?"

"Huh? Uhh, yeah I'm fine."

"See, nothing to worry about," exclaimed Gil.

"Fine but at least help him out."

Gil lifted his arm off of Matthew and then went into the kitchen to get other plates to serve everyone. Matt placed the stack of fresh pancakes onto the coffee table and Gil came back quickly with plates for everyone. Xiang got two, Alfred didn't want any, Arthur wanted four and Gil wanted eight which lead to a small competition between the Englishman and Prussian. Xiang, Al and Matt could only watch as the two began to devour the pancakes, each not letting up. Matthew had to run back to the kitchen every now and then to restock on pancakes since the two were going through them quickly. After about an hour of endless pancake eating the two finally stopped but Xiang silently kept count and Gilbert had eaten one more than Arthur. Even with the amount eaten, Gil didn't seem at all phased by the amount of carbohydrates he had consumed while Arthur looked like he was on the verge of vomiting.

"Thanks for the meal Mattie; that was delicious."

"No problem Gil. Arthur? Are you okay?"

"I'm…Fine. I just need to lie down for a while."

"Umm, okay then. "

While Arthur was taking a short nap, Xiang excused himself and went to bed, Alfred had to go home and the last two began to chat for a bit about how the play went. Surprisingly, Gil was somewhat interested with it but mostly on Matthew's opinion.

"Oh you should have seen it Gil. It was so romantic yet so sad. Xiang performed amazingly."

"Is that so? Well I wish I could have come and seen it then."

"Yeah, I was kind of surprised that Xiang could act so well and kiss his friend even though she wasn't his girlfriend. That should have been awkward for any two."

"Maybe they both just like each other and can't confess it," joked Gil.

"Hmm, I think you may be right Gil."

"I am?"

"Yeah, I mean, it would make sense. Seeing that they're best friends and how natural all that romance seemed to occur with them."

"Hmm, romance huh? Speaking of that, would you like to go out tomorrow?"

Matt began to blush and his answer came out very shyly, "W-what, umm, sure."

"Awesome. I guarantee you'll have a great time."

Unknown to the both of them, Arthur had woken up at just the moment where they talked about tomorrow and he couldn't help but feel a sense of over whelming jealousy and rage. Xiang expected such a thing from how they were all acting and lied to them that he was going to bed when instead he waited at the corner of the stair case, hidden behind the wall. He now had an entirely new problem; he had to make a choice between giving Matthew or Arthur their own happiness. Matthew, who he has treated as his own brother and even more so, being able to tell him almost anything. Then there was Arthur, who has cared for him since he was young and even though he doesn't like him as much as Matthew, still cares about the British man. Xiang took out his cell phone and began to make a call to a certain girl.

"Hello?" answered Mei.

"Mei, it looks like we have another mission to attend to," he whispered.

"Really? Well this should be exciting if you're calling me this late."

"Well, it's important. That much I can say."

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Hetalia. All rights go to Hidekaz Himaruya

All credit of North Korea OC goes to Lo-wah.

A/N:

Sorry about the late update everyone but it's finally up. Well you can probably guess the amount of drama that's about to happen now. Who will end up with who? Well I can't spoil that for you, just know that this will be interesting to say the less. Also, I've been having major writer's block so I'm sorry to say that I'll be going on a bit of a hiatus. Yeah, I know you guys don't want to hear that but I just don't know what to write anymore and I need a break. I promise though that as soon as I get out of this slump, I'll get back to this. I have all the plots ready, just can't put enough substance into it, sorry. Reviews are greatly appreciated and any advice to get out of a writer's block will be much appreciated. Thanks to the readers and reviews. Bye for now.


	11. Chapter 11 A trip to Remember

Ch. 11 A trip to remember

The weekend flew by since Xiang and Mei rested from the play and school came by quickly. Rumors started to spread around school that Xiang and Mei were dating now because of the whole play scenes and etc. Xiang just ignored these rumors and so did Mei, although she did get flustered when Yue confronted her about it. The two were trying to come up with a plan to make Matt happy and it was obvious that he liked Gil except the major problem was Arthur since he liked Matt too.

"Okay class, I have a special announcement for your upper classmen. All of you, we will be going on our class trip into the mountains this week starting Friday so be prepared. I've handed out the pamphlets that will be explaining the activities that we will be participating in and a list of the required materials that you should bring like spare clothes, a tent, etc. Also, if anyone could, would you please ask an adult to chaperon during the trip? We're short on staff for the trip since it will only be the upper classmen going."

The class began to talk about the trip and Xiang and Mei gave each other I thoughtful glance, signaling that they had the same idea. After school that day, Xiang went to Matt's apartment, explaining the trip and asking for his assistance. Matt accepted without any problems and he told him he could invite Gilbert if he wanted and he blushed at this news. With Xiang's insistence, Matt accepted. The two teen's plan was going smoothly since they were able to get those two alone from everyone else but something unexpected was beginning to happen.

Xiang returned home, a little weary from all the walking when he was called into the living room. Xiang took off his shoes and went over and Arthur sat in a couch as he waited for Xiang to take the seat. The situation seemed obvious; Xiang was going to get some sort of talk from Arthur.

"Xiang, I heard your class trip is this week, correct?"

"Yes."

"And your class is in need of chaperons?"

"What's your point?"

"Well isn't it obvious? I would like to volunteer myself. We can spend some time together."

"It's not that I don't want you to come but why?" Xiang pleaded, with his usual monotone.

"I just want to spend some time with you. Is that so wrong?"

"From the tone of your voice, it sounds like your scheming something."

"Not at all." Xiang grudgingly accepted since he couldn't deny his guardian and if he did volunteer himself, there wouldn't be any refusing.

The real reason why Xiang didn't want Arthur to come was for two reasons. Reason one; it would create a lot of complications in their plan to get Matt together with Gilbert. Reason two; Arthur would definitely get in the way of him spending time with Mei. He had to call Mei about the situation since they would now have to change their plan up but since the trip with in only two days, they wouldn't be able to adapt in time so they would seriously have to just go with it and hope their original plan wouldn't be ruined.

* * *

The rest of the two days went by quickly since it was mainly planning and packing for the big trip. One the actual day of the trip, everyone had to wake up earlier than usual to get on the bus. Arthur drove Xiang to the school and they waited at the rendezvous point but Arthur was still sleepy. Others started to arrive, all seemed to be tired except for Xiang who didn't show any signs of fatigue. Matt showed up eventually and greeted Xiang and Arthur. Arthur, surprised/excited to see Matthew, snapped up immediately and greets him.

"Matthew, I didn't think I see you here."

"Hello Arthur. Yeah, Xiang asked me to be a chaperon for this trip. You too?"

"Yeah same here. Except I volunteered myself since I wanted to spend some time with Xiang."

"That's a brotherly thing to do."

"It was nothing."

The two began to talk and Xiang walked away from them to get some quiet. He then noticed a familiar face and walked over to her. To his surprise, she was sleeping against the building. Xiang lightly tapped her head and she opened her eyes slowly.

"Xiang? Are we leaving yet?"

"Yes it's me and the buses are coming in another minute."

"I'm tired."

"That's obvious."

"If I wasn't so tired, I'd hit you."

"Well that's good then." Xiang then moved over to her and helped her up and guided the sleepy girl toward the bus stops. Matthew was standing alone as he waited for the bus and Arthur was nowhere to be found.

"Matt? Where's Arthur?"

"Oh, he said he'd go get some coffee for us."

"Oh. So where's Gil?"

"He said he would come but later with his own ride."

"Oh I see. Could you sit next to Arthur when we get on? Mei is kind of out of it right now and I don't want her to hurt herself."

"Shut up Xiang," said Mei weakly.

"Sure Xiang."

The buses came and everyone began to throw their things into the compartment of the bus and the lighter bags could be brought with us. Xiang led Mei into the bus and helped her put her stuff into the upper compartments. When he finished, he found that she already sat down and fell asleep. Xiang took his own seat and waited as everyone else boarded. He could see Matt and Arthur up near the front talking and drinking some coffee. The teacher told everyone that they would reach the site in another four hours. The buses began to go and everyone made a small cheer, since over half of them were still half-asleep. Xiang took out his book and began to read when he noticed Mei had replaced her air pillow for his shoulder. He smiled and allowed her to rest while he focused on his book. About two hours later, even Xiang began to tire and he placed his book away and went to sleep.

The buses came to a stop and the teacher told everyone that they arrived. Mei opened her eyes and saw she was sleeping on Xiang's shoulder and that he was using her head as a pillow. She flushed and slowly pulled her head out of the position and shook Xiang to wake him. Xiang woke up and gave a soft yawn and sat up. They grabbed their bags from the top compartment and went out of the bus to get their other things. The teacher gave everyone a good morning and told them that they would be camping in a clearing. He then guided everyone over to the clearing and it was a lush green field with an old styled temple at the other end.

"Okay everyone, pick a spot you like and set up your tent there. Try to get this done within the next half-hour, and then we'll get some breakfast and start to clean the temple at the other end of the area."

Everyone agreed and quickly ran to find a spot they liked. Xiang and Mei found a suitable spot, somewhat close to the edge of the forest and began to set up. After about ten minutes, Xiang already had his tent set up and it was pretty large, while Mei finished shortly behind him. They then raced each other to the temple to get some food. They had a simple meal of rice, egg and soup with tea to drink. Xiang and Mei began to talk about their plan as everyone else began to finish their meal. The teacher rang a bell through the entire building to get everyone's attention.

"Everyone! Our lunch will end in another ten minutes then we'll start to get to work. First we will clean the entire temple except only the boys will be cleaning while the girls will gather food and cook."

Multiple loud groans filled the building, since the guys didn't want to do such a tedious task. The teacher had to quiet everyone down but his efforts were completely wasted. In a matter of minutes the front doors burst open.

"Haha! The hero is here!"

"Ha, Ore-sama is more awesome than you are!"

"Whatever. Sorry that we're late everyone. It was Gilbert's fault for over sleeping."

"What are you talking about? I only slept in for like ten minutes. We're late because you wanted to stop for a burger every half hour."

The crowd of bickering teens turned all their attention to the front doors and the two men who stood in the front of it. Arthur let out a groin of annoyance and Matt tried to hide himself because of the embarrassment. The teach walked up to them and asked them if they were volunteers too.

"We're not just volunteers, we're with the police so we can protect everyone from anything that might try to scare or hurt you," explained Gil.

"Oh really? Well that's convenient I guess. Well if since you two are here, you'll be helping the boys with cleaning the building."

A dissatisfied look appeared on both of their faces but they then noticed Matt and Arthur in the background and both of them brightened up to know that they would be working with them. Lunch ended and everyone moved to their respective working locations. Mei whispered to Xiang, telling him to keep an eye on the Matt and everyone else since she wouldn't be near them to have any influence. Xiang nodded and they changed into more suitable outfits to start cleaning. Some of them were wiping the floors with towels, others dusting, others carrying the cleaning supplies to everyone else.

Xiang made sure to keep a close eye on the group like Mei suggested and not much was going on besides the ordinary work. That is until Gilbert started to hit on Matt.

"Hey Mattie."

"Yes Gil?"

"I forgot to bring a tent so could I share yours with you?"

Matt slightly blushed, "I uhh, don't mind. Just make sure you don't do anything crazy."

Gil pulled Matt into a hug, "Thanks Mattie. I promise."

"Gilbert! Get back to work," yelled Arthur.

"What's wrong Artie? I'm just playing with Mattie a bit."

"Shut up you git. We're trying to do work and your playing around."

"What? You should know enough about me by now that I would do these things."

"That doesn't matter; you need to do your work."

"Whatever Artie. Talk to you later Mattie." Gil then went off to another spot to clean, while Arthur gave him a death glare from behind.

Xiang watched quietly, making sure of Matt's true feelings about these two. He then thought it'd be best to just ask, no matter how awkward the situation was. He walked over to Matt as he wiped the floor.

"Matt."

"Oh Xiang. What's up?"

"Do you like Gilbert?"

"H-huh? W-why are you asking this all of a sudden?"

"Because I just want to know. You two seem to be getting along well."

"Well, promise me you won't tell anyone."

"I promise," swore Xiang.

"Okay then. I-I do like him. He's been my friend for a while and he makes me feel like people can remember me. But that's not the only thing, he's special in his own way and he makes me feel the same… Kind of corny right?"

"Not at all. It makes perfect sense if you think about it. But know that he's not the only one who can remember you, you have us, your family."

Matt then pulled Xiang into a tight hug. "You're a good brother Xiang."

"I'm just telling you the truth."

"Well I appreciate it nonetheless."

"That's what I'm here for. I care about my family no matter what, especially those closest to me."

Xiang and Matt began to talk about the old times of their time together as a family. All the crazy moments when Arthur was trying to cook, the times when Alfred came over and created his own chaos and complete disregard for other's peace. Night began to fall and everyone was allowed to go back inside for dinner. All the guys were exhausted from all the cleaning but the temple now looked completely spotless. The girls came in with carts and plates laid on them, each with their own amount of food, evenly divided. All the guys cheered for the food since they were starving and began to eat. After everyone finished, the girls took the plates to clean them while the guys could head back to their tents before going to bed.

Mei quietly washed the dishes she had next to Yue. The two finished their dishes and headed off to their own tents, giving each other a goodbye hug. Mei entered her tent, next to Xiang's, and she changed into her pajamas and she fell onto her sleeping bag and tried to go to sleep. A loud howl from the forest startled her; she quickly rose up from her bag and carefully looked out off her tent to see what was making the sound. She didn't see anything. As soon as she went back into her tent, the howl resounded again and she got up, more frightened than before. She looked out her tent and saw the light in Xiang's tent still on so she grabbed her blanket and went over to Xiang's tent and opened it.

"Xiang?" She looked around and saw a lump under the blankets and also what looked like a panda, sitting at the corner with the light. She completely forgot the howling she heard and ran up and glomped onto the panda figure. It then turned its head and the face was Xiang's.

"Mei?"

"Xiang? Oh my gosh, why are you wearing this?"

Xiang blushed slightly from embarrassment. "I thought no one would see me like this and because it's comfy and I like pandas. What are you doing here?"

"Oh why not? You look so cute in this. Oh, I got scared by the howling so I came over here."

"Because it's embarrassing. And what am I suppose to do about it?"

"Well I was wondering if I could sleep here. I'm scared."

Xiang sighed. "Fine."

"Yay! Thank you." She then ran over to Xiang's futon and plopped herself onto it. "This is pretty soft."

"Yeah it is." Xiang then turned off the lights and walked over to the futon. He plopped himself next to Mei and got under his blankets. "Wait, we're sleeping together?"

Mei blushed but thanked the darkness for hiding it. "Um, yeah. Just don't try anything now."

"As if I would."

Mei smiled and slid herself underneath the blankets and next to Xiang. "This is cozy and warm, isn't it?"

"I guess so. Good night Mei."

"Good night Xiang."

* * *

The morning came and Xiang softly opened his eyes. His face then turned into a slight blush when he saw that he was just two inches away from Mei's face as she slept. He then noticed that somehow during the night he had wrapped his arms around her which he quickly pulled back. He rose from his bed and gave a soft yawn. Xiang's sudden movements woke Mei up who quickly pulled him back down with her, keeping him in place by wrapping her own arms around him. She smelled of a light plum blossom scent and a very calming scent at that.

"It's too cold in the morning without you," she said sleepily.

Xiang blushed and sighed, staying in bed with Mei but he noticed his watch was saying that he was up an hour earlier than he was suppose to be. Xiang allowed his eyes to fall back and close. When he reopened them, he looked at his watch and realized that they only had ten minutes to get ready and he shook Mei awake, telling her this. Mei quickly scrambled out of bed and ran back into her tent to change. Xiang did the same. They both of them hurried to the site where they were suppose to meet the others.

In a clearing stood the rest of the class as the teacher was telling them what they would be doing. They would hike up the mountain to see the view of the area and then have a small lunch on the peak. Afterwards, they would come back down and then the boys would change into something else and go towards the waterfall.

Their hike began and each step was filled with the sound of a snapping twig or the crushing of dirt under the boots of the hikers. Complaints could be heard from some people about the distance but they were ignored. The group had finally reached the peak of the mountain, where most of everyone collapsed from exhaustion. Some began to eat their lunch. Xiang took out his camera and began to take pictures of the mountain scenery and then turned his attention to Mei with the camera as she looked out at the sky. She then turned to him and looked at him with a questionable gaze.

"What are you doing Xiang?"

"Taking pictures."

"See anything you like?"

"Yeah," he answered, and then silently he muttered, "More than you know."

"Hey, have you seen Matthew?"

"Umm, I thought I saw him with Gilbert."

"Really? Well this is going all too well, and we don't have to do much."

"Yep. But I'm kind of worried about Arthur."

"Why?"

"Well, it's kind of clear that he likes Matthew too."

"Well that's going to be a problem then."

"Yeah. So I'll go distract Arthur for a bit while you go to check up on Matthew and Gilbert."

"Alright then."

Xiang went over to Arthur who was lying against a tree when Xiang came over to make sure that the others wouldn't be disturbed by him. Mei tried to look for the Canadian and Prussian and finally found them alone near the edge of the mountain as they stared at the clearing. She hid behind a tree to make sure she wouldn't disturb the couple.

"So Mattie…"

"Yes Gil?"

"You know I like you right?"

"Of course. As a friend right?"

"Yes and no. I like you but more than a friend."

"W-what do you mean," stuttered Matt.

"I mean I really like you. More than a friend. And I wanted to ask if you felt the same way."

"I-I like you too," he squeaked.

"Really!" Gil then wrapped his arms around the meek man and began to twirls him around. "You have no idea how much that makes me happy."

Matt began to laugh along with Gil. "Yes really you idiot. Now put me down." Gil stopped his twirling and gently placed Matt back onto the ground. The two stared into the other's eyes for a long moment as the distance between them began to close. With only a few inches separating them, they closed their eyes.

A whistle broke them of their moment and they turned toward the sound and told each other that they should head back. Mei sighed as she leaned against the tree.

"We were so close," she exclaimed.

The teacher was the one to blow the whistle, announcing to everyone that they were to head back down the mountain. Everyone groaned since they knew what they were about to face. With any further delay, everyone began the trip down the mountain but this time they had to be more careful not to take a misstep or else they would go plummeting down the mountain side. After a few hours, they made it down the mountain without any casualties. They were then separated into groups and told to change into another attire for the next task. The girls were given a change of clothes because they would be running while the guys were given white robes because they would be heading down the forest path and to the waterfall.

Mei wished Xiang luck and they went their own way. Xiang stood under the shade of the trees as he watched groups of five go under the waterfall and try to endure the rushing water crash onto them. Strangely enough, Yong Soo was enjoying the refreshing water and didn't look like he was in any kind of discomfort. Almost everyone went except for a few of the adults and Xiang. The stoic teen went into the water and stood under it with his hands pressed against the other, completely unfazed by the pressure. The same thing couldn't be said for the adults who were Matthew, Gilbert, Arthur and Alfred. Alfred, like Yong Soo, was enjoying the water. Arthur and Gil seemed to be having their own competition to see who could last longer. Matthew stood silently but was trying his best to last as long as he could. After an hour later, the only person under the falls was Xiang.

"Xiang! What in the world is wrong with you? You can come out of their now," yelled Arthur.

"I'm fine," he responded.

"Bloody hell. How in the world can you stand there like it's nothing?"

"I don't know. It feels nice."

Arthur shook his head in disbelief and turned his attention to Matthew who was drying himself off. Gilbert was looking at Matthew perversely and teasing the Canadian while Alfred was trying to annoy Arthur. The group of guys then noticed the girls running by them as they took their break in the same location as the waterfall.

Mei was looking around for Xiang when she spotted him still under the falls and waved at him. Xiang finally left the water and went over to Mei, dripping wet as she handed him a towel.

"Xiang you idiot. Why were you standing under there while everyone else is drying off?"

"I didn't notice the time pass by. It was nice under it."

"Is that so?" Mei then took a look at Xiang and slightly blushed and turned her head away from him. "You really should get dry. Like now."

"Hmm?" Xiang then looked down at himself and since all the robes were white, it had become a bit transparent from all the water. "Oh, I didn't notice."

"Didn't notice! Just because you have the muscles doesn't mean you should show off you idiot."

Xiang then decided to have some fun with Mei and tease her a bit. "Oh what's wrong? You don't like the view?"

Mei blushed harder. "S-shut up. I-It's not that I don't like it. It's just I don't want the other girls seeing you like this," she muttered.

Xiang smirked. "Oh? Does Meimei not want others to see her friend like this?"

"Shut up you jerk."

"You know I'm just playing with you."

"Yeah I know but you're a good actor so sometimes it's hard to tell."

"Don't worry; I wouldn't ever really play with you like that."

The two began to walk back to the camp site together and talking about how their day went without each other but Mei already knew about Xiang's standing under the waterfall for hours story and Xiang was more interested with her story. Mei said that hers wasn't that interesting at all. She just said that they ran all around the place and that she was really tired.

The two made it back to the camp site and changed back into their normal clothes and went to go get some dinner. The two finished quickly and went back outside when the teacher walked by and told the two that there was a bonfire going on at the end of the site with the almost everyone else. Mei decided that it would be fun so she bragged Xiang's arm and dragged him over to the site. As the teacher had said, almost their entire class was sitting on logs around a campfire and roasting marshmallows on sticks. The two sat down and some of their classmates handed them some marshmallows and sticks.

"Hey, we should tell scary stories," suggested someone.

"That's a great idea. It'll be more fun this way," announced another.

Everyone agreed and the only thing to decide now was who would tell the first story. One of their classmates volunteered and everyone became quiet as they awaited the story.

_There was a High School teacher whose class consisted of exactly 30 students. He was particularly strict and a little bit cruel to his students, making them stay back until late at night every day to study in the library. In order to make sure his students stayed back and didn't sleep, he asked them all to call his cell phone at certain times during the night and tell him their student number._

_This went well for awhile, but all of a sudden, late one night he received a call. He answered as per usual and a girl's weak voice replied "Hi Teacher, I'm number 31," and then abruptly hung up on him. At first he didn't even realize, but then he felt furious as he thought one of his students was playing him for a fool._

_The next day he stormed into the classroom and demanded the student who pulled the prank own up to it. No one did, and they all denied knowing anything about it. He threatened the whole class, telling them he would beat them all if it happened again that night. Unexpectedly, it did happen again. At the exact same time, to the second. He tried to ask the girl who was calling but she hung up so quickly he couldn't get a word in._

_The next day he lived up to his threats and beat the students in the class, demanding someone own up. Of course, no one did. He even went so far as to go to other classes and ask them about it, but no one would admit to anything._

_The calls continued on schedule every night, the same way. Then finally one night he got his word in on time. "Who are you!" he questioned frantically. The girl replied softly, "I'm in your class, Teacher. You know me." To which the teacher said, "My class has only 30 students, stop trying to trick me." The girl only said this: "I'm always watching you during class, Teacher. But you only show me your back. I want to see your face." Then she, once again, abruptly cut off the call._

_He told his students that they need not stay back at all, even going so far as to change his cell phone number. But the calls continued. The teacher eventually went crazy from the continuous and unexplained calls and retired shortly after._

_A few months after his retiring, the school underwent renovations. But while the builders were replacing the blackboard in the classroom of the old Teacher, they were shocked to discover the dead body of a young girl had been hidden behind the blackboard._

The entire group remained silent. Matthew was crushing Gilbert's hand. Alfred was in Arthur's lap and holding tight to the British man. Mei looked kind of shaky from the story and Xiang placed a reassuring hand onto her shoulder, telling her that it was just a story.

"Nice story," commented someone.

"But it could have been scarier," said another.

"Oh, can I go next," asked someone.

Everyone agreed and some began to eat their snacks in wait of the next story.

_A man went to a hotel and walked up to the front desk to check in. The woman at the desk gave him his key and told him that on the way to his room, there was a door with no number that was locked and no one was allowed in there. Especially no one should look inside the room, under any circumstances. So he followed the instructions of the woman at the front desk, going straight to his room, and going to bed._

_The next night his curiosity would not leave him alone about the room with no number on the door. He walked down the hall to the door and tried the handle. Sure enough it was locked. He bent down and looked through the wide keyhole. Cold air passed through it, chilling his eye. What he saw was a hotel bedroom, like his, and in the corner was a woman whose skin was completely white. She was leaning her head against the wall, facing away from the door. He stared in confusion for a while. He almost knocked on the door, out of curiosity, but decided not to._

_This disinclination saved his life. He crept away from the door and walked back to his room. The next day, he returned to the door and looked through the wide keyhole. This time, all he saw was redness. He couldn't make anything out besides a distinct red color, unmoving. Perhaps the inhabitants of the room knew he was spying the night before, and had blocked the keyhole with something red._

_At this point he decided to consult the woman at the front desk for more information. She sighed and said, "Did you look through the keyhole?" The man told her that he had and she said, "Well, I might as well tell you the story. A long time ago, a man murdered his wife in that room, and her ghost haunts it. But these people were not ordinary. They were white all over, except for their eyes, which were red."_

The only sounds heard could be the crackling of the fire as everyone remained dead silent. Mei was now clinging herself to Xiang and burying her face in his shoulder as she tried to calm her down.

"Ehh, I think I'll be the first to say something. That was a good story," he commented weakly.

"I think we should all go to bed now. It's getting late," announced Arthur.

Everyone agreed and hurried back to their tents. Xiang and Mei separated at their tents and Xiang changed into his pajamas. He tucked himself into his bed and moved to turn off his light when Mei opened up his tent.

"Xiang? Can I sleep here tonight again?"

"What's wrong? You scared?"

"W-what? I am not."

"Then you should be able to sleep by yourself right?"

"Okay, fine your right. Please let me sleep here," she begged. Xiang looked at her and saw that she was near tears and told her to get in. She came in and closed the tent and quickly tucked herself next to Xiang. He turned off the lights and laid his head against his pillow.

"Xiang?"

"Yes?"

"I'm really scared."

"I know. But it'll be fine. I'm here so you don't have to worry."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. When you're around I feel so much safer."

"Don't worry Mei. I'll always protect you. Now get some sleep."

"Okay. Oh and Xiang."

"Yes?"

"Thanks."

"No problem."

* * *

The morning came and the two got ready to head home since this would be their last day at the camp. Everyone was either packing up or eating the barbecue that they made for the final day. Xiang and Mei finished their packing early so they went to get something to eat. The two were eating their food when Arthur came up to their table.

"Hey Xiang. Have you seen Matthew anywhere? I can't find him."

"Hmm? I haven't seen him," he answered flatly.

"Oh really? Well I really wanted to tell him something and I want to tell him before we have to leave."

"Well I don't know where he is."

"I see. Well I'm going to go look for him. See you later." Arthur then walked away.

"Xiang! We have to do something," exclaimed Mei.

"What are you talking about?"

"Arthur of course. You know that Matthew and Gilbert are alone in the forest right now. If Arthur finds them, it'll be disastrous."

"Your right but do you even know where they are?"

"Err, I don't."

"Exactly. So unless we're lucky, we'll be wasting our time. Besides, how much damage could Arthur do in only an hour?"

"You don't get it. What if he does get lucky and finds them? Things will get very tense afterwards."

"Fine, if it'll make you feel better, we'll go look for them."

Xiang and Mei quickly finished the rest of their meal and went off in search for the adults. Meanwhile, Arthur was looking through the forest in search of Matthew and Gilbert. He walked along the path of the forest and he saw the two in a clearing. He was about to approach them when he noticed how unusually close they were to each other. He took advantage of them having their backs turned and hid behind a tree to try and hear what they're talking about.

"So Mattie, did you have a good time here?"

"Yeah, I'm glad Xiang invited us. But what really made it enjoyable was you."

"It was nothing. I'm glad to be here with you. But you know? There's still something I wanted to do here."

"What would that be?"

Gil then wrapped his arms around the Canadian and quickly closed the distance between them. Giving him a soft kiss on his lips. After that short moment he pulled back and Matt was red in the face.

"We never got to finish that."

"Well I'm glad we were."

"What in the world is this!"

The couple turned their heads to see a fuming British man approaching them. "I asked you two what is this?"

"Arthur? I was just here with Gil…"

"That's not what I meant! Why were you kissing him?" he demanded.

"Well because…"

"Because we like each other," finished Gil.

Arthur then felt like something struck him. He was furious but at the same time he was saddened. "But-but, Matthew…I thought…us…I guess not…"

"What are you talking about Arthur?" he asked.

"I thought you liked me…because I love you."

Matthew seemed a little startled by the confession but Gil's reassuring presence calmed him. "I-I do like you Arthur but…I like Gilbert more. You, you're more like a brother to me. The way you feel about me, I'm sorry, but I can't return it."

Arthur felt like his heart was about to be torn in two just from Matthew's words. He tried to keep his composure but he fell onto his knees from the shock and with his head hanging and his face towards the ground. Xiang and Mei then ran over to them but from the scene, they realized they were too late.

"I-I see. Well I hope you two are happy together. I'll be going now…" Arthur got up but with his back towards the new couple. Xiang and Mei could see it though. Tears began to stream down Arthur's face but he tried to hide it from the two. He began to run back to the camp site.

"Arthur! Wait!" screamed Matthew. But Arthur didn't turn back, he ran with his head facing down. Matthew moved to run after him but Gil stopped him.

"No Mattie. He needs to be alone right now. You being next to him will only make things worse."

"But…it's my fault he's feeling like this."

"You can't blame yourself for this. It's not your fault that you choose someone else but right now he must be heartbroken and for you to be by him. The one he did love; would only make things worse for him. To be by the one you really love but not to be with them at the same time."

Matt then buried his face into Gilbert's chest and he placed his arms around him. Xiang and Mei stood there. Mei was shocked by the scene that had just occurred in front of them and Xiang didn't show much but he felt that he allowed a tragedy to occur that didn't have to be. After a while, the group returned back to the campsite. Xiang and Mei tried to search for Arthur but he was nowhere to be found. They then ran up to one of the teachers to ask them where he was.

"Oh Arthur Kirkland? He left a while ago with Alfred. He must've wanted to go home really badly huh?"

The two delivered this news the Matt and Gil. They were somewhat reassured to know that Alfred was with him but they still couldn't help but feel guilty for what happened. Despite all that happened, everyone was going home today and Xiang and Matt would have to meet with Arthur sooner or later. The group returned home in the buses and Xiang entered his home with Matthew and Gil at his side. They looked all around for the British man but he wasn't there. Xiang went into the kitchen in search of him when he saw a note on the table. He went over to it and picked it up and began to read it.

_Dear Xiang, _

_ I'm sorry. I can't be around here right now. I know that I'm not right in the head right now. I'm going away for a bit. Don't worry about yourself though. I left enough money for you to buy food and you don't have to worry about the bills. I'll be gone for about two months. I'm sorry but I can't tell you where I'm at right now. But don't worry, Alfred will keep me company from time to time but I made him swear to not tell anyone so please honor that wish of mine. I just need to be alone right now._

_ Sincerely, _

_ Arthur Kirkland _

Xiang reread the letter just to make sure he was saw right. He placed the paper into his pocket and went into the living room to tell Matthew and Gilbert that Arthur would be gone for a while. The news shocked Matthew. Luckily Gilbert was around to comfort him and couple insisted that they take care of Xiang until Arthur's return even though Xiang really didn't care.

As soon as Xiang finished unpacking he called Mei and told her everything that was in the note. She was surprised too but told Xiang to believe in Arthur and that he just needs some time to mend his broken heart. Xiang could only agree since there were more pressing matters to attend to now and even though he knew it was wrong; he was somehow relieved that Arthur would be gone for a bit so he wouldn't get in the way of Xiang's plans.

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Hetalia. All rights go to Hidekaz Himaruya

A/N:

Hi everyone! Sorry that it took me so long to update but there is some good news and some bad news. The good news is that I was finally able to break my writer's block and give you guys this extra long chapter that I hope you enjoyed. The bad news is I'm going to be gone for about a month's time doing something called NaNoWriMo which is National Novel Writing Month where starting tomorrow I will be trying to write 50000 words for my novel. And clearly since I'm focusing on that, I might not be able to update within that time but don't worry, as soon as it's over I'll start updating again and if I get the chance I might update during the month if I get the chance. Thank you to the readers and reviews. Bye for now.


	12. Chapter 12 Romance's Time

Ch. 12 Romance's Time

Things were stressful at Xiang's home. Matthew and Gilbert tried not to worry about Arthur but Matthew's guilt always got the better of him but with Gilbert being around, it was somewhat alleviated. Mei and Xiang were busy with school above all else. The only thing that they found worth going to school for right now was the school dance that was coming up. Except the only problem for the two was finding dates to go to it.

Xiang was busily working on who knows what as he was quickly jotting down things on his paper and had a calculator beside him. Mei knew he wasn't doing math homework because he always finished his homework extremely quickly and he never looked so focus before. Despite his focus, she knew that dance was coming up and she began her plan.

"So Xiang…"

"Yeah?"

"Are you going to the dance this weekend?"

"Not sure."

"What do you mean?"

"I know I can go, it's just if I want to or not."

"Well why wouldn't you want to go."

"Because I don't know anyone to go with."

"Is that so? I'm sure that anyone will accept if it's you."

"Well I just don't want anybody you know."

"Yeah…so isn't there something you want to ask me?"

"Umm, I don't think so. Oh wait there is something."

"Yes?" she asked eagerly.

"Do you know if it's going to rain this Saturday?"

Mei stared at him for the longest time before she answered, "I'm not sure. Isn't there anything else you wanted to ask me?"

"I don't think so. Not now anyway."

"Oh I see. Well I'll be going now." Mei left Xiang to do his work as she dragged herself through the school telling herself that she couldn't believe how oblivious Xiang was sometimes. He may be a genius sometimes but he was just as airheaded as her sometimes too.

Mei continued her walk across the school when she accendentilly ran into someone and fell over. "Ow. Hey, watch where you're going."

Mei looked up to see who she ran into and it was Hyung. He quickly stood up and offered her a hand. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. Are you alright?"

Mei took his hand and he pulled her up. "Yeah I'm fine. So you're back?"

"That's good. And yes I am, I was released from the hospital yesterday. Anyway, how was the play? Yong Soo tried to tell me what was going on except he couldn't form a complete sentence to tell me."

"It went amazingly. Everyone performed to all our standards and Xiang was able to fill in for your absence."

"Is that so? So you two kissed right?"

Mei blushed. "W-we did b-but it didn't mean anything. It was all for the act…"

"You don't have to be embarrassed about it. So you two aren't dating? I thought you two were since you spend so much time together."

"No, we aren't dating. He's just my best friend…"

"Really now? Such a cute girl like you isn't dating anyone?"

"I'm not that cute and I guess I'm just waiting for the certain person to ask me."

"Well, I know someone that would like to escort a cute girl to the dance this Saturday."

"H-huh? A-are you asking me?"

"I am. So…"

"I…um… sure, that would be lovely." Mei pulled on a small smile but she was still in shock from the proposal.

"Great. I'll pick you up and six. See you then." Hyung ran off and Mei shyly waved him goodbye.

Mei finally broke out of her daze and hurried off to tell Yue about the recent event.

Xiang finally finished his work when Thai came over to him. Xiang gave him a curious stare.

"Xiang, are you excited about the dance."

"Surprisingly I am. Why do you ask?"

"Because it's a dance of course! And also I plan to ask Yue to it. You think she'll accept?"

"Since when did you like Yue?"

"I-I don't know but you think she'll say yes?"

"I can't answer that and give you a good answer. So instead I'll just say that you two have been friends for a long time and she doesn't seem to dislike you so go for it."

"Haha, thanks Xiang. But back to you."

"Me?"

"Yes you. Who are you going to ask?" Thai then leaned over and hung his arm over the Asian and whispered into his ear, "Is it Mei?"

Xiang's face began to heat up a bit and he pushed Thai off. "S-shut up."

"No need to be so shy Xiang. Come on and just admit it. You. Like. Mei."

"So what if I do," Xiang muttered.

"Ha! I knew it!" exclaimed Thai. "But anyway, you should go ask her."

"I will but the dance isn't till next Saturday anyway."

Thai then gave Xiang a deadpanned look. "Umm, Xiang. The dance is _this_ Saturday."

Xiang stared at Thai until the message finally registered in his head. "What! Are you serious?"

"Yeah. Why? Is something going to happen?"

"So that's what Mei was hinting at," he muttered. "Sort of. I have to go find Mei right away." Xiang got up from his seat and began to run through the school looking for her. He spotted his friend sitting with Yue outside under the tree. He was about to approach them until he heard a certain someone's name, Hyung.

Xiang sneak closer to be able to hear the girls conversation, hiding in the shadow of the trees. "Are you serious Mei?"

"Yes I am. Hyung asked me to the dance."

"Well, what did you say?"

"I said yes." Xiang suddenly felt like something had struck him straight in the heart.

"No way. I could have sworn Xiang would have asked you."

"I thought so too," she answered sadly. "But even when I was really hinting at it, he didn't ask me…"

Xiang wanted to smack himself across the head at that moment but resisted. "Well, why didn't you say no to Hyung then if you didn't want to go with him?"

"Well it was kind of sudden and it's not like I hate the guy. And at least I'd get a date to the dance."

"Oh well maybe this is a sign. Maybe you two will get together."

"Don't say that now Yue. It's just a dance."

"Just a dance? Don't you see those shows or life? A lot of people fall in love at dances or realize their feelings. Maybe you will too."

Mei laughed a little, "Right Yue. Maybe it'll go for you too."

Yue turned slightly red and softly muttered, "W-what are you talking about?"

"Well, you know Thai. What's going on between you two?"

"N-nothing!"

"Right Yue. Like you said, something might happen at the dance."

"He hasn't even asked me to it yet!"

"Well, looks like he will now." Mei pointed and Thai was walking towards them, looking a bit nervous. Mei then gave her friend a quick hug before leaving them alone. Xiang took this chance to talk to Mei and he snuck out of his hiding spot and went over to Mei.

"Oh Xiang. What's up? You finish your work?"

"Yeah I did."

"So did you need something?"

"I just… umm, heard you were going to the dance with Hyung."

"You did? News must spread quickly here huh? Well I am. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing. Just wanted to confirm it with you."

"Is that so? Well are you going to the dance then?"

"I'm not sure. I don't have a date."

"Oh right. Well it won't be the same without you there."

"Hmm, if it's for you then I'll go. Well, see you later." Xiang then went off in his own direction, leaving Mei slightly confused.

Saturday came quickly and Mei was nervous about the dance. She had woken up late and now was rushing to getting herself ready. She pulled her hair into a pony tail and fixed her dress as she waited nervously for Kiku to come back from work and take her to the dance. He arrived and she went into the car, holding her purse tightly.

"Mei, when will the dance be over?"

"I think it's over at eleven."

"Alright, I'll be back around that time to pick you up. Now have fun."

"Okay, arigato Kiku-sama." Mei waved goodbye to Kiku and went inside the building. She saw the huge line of people waiting for the dance to begin. She lifted her head over the crowd to see if she could spot anyone she knew but didn't see anyone. Suddenly a hand placed itself on her shoulder and she turned around to see Xiang.

"Xiang!" She turned around and tightly hugged him. "When did you get here?"

"I just did. You look… beautiful."

Mei blushed slightly. "T-thanks. You don't look half bad yourself."

Xiang wore a simple black tux with a red undershirt and a black glossy tie. He gave Mei a small smile, which surprised her since he usually didn't show much emotion. "Thank you. So did you see the others?"

"I didn't but there they are." Mei pointed behind Xiang and he turned around to see Thai and Yue walking towards them. Each dressed appropriately and Thai held a silly expression on his face while Yue was her usual happy self. "Hey guys."

"Hey you two. Mei you look amazing," commented Yue.

"Thanks. You two look good too."

After exchanging a few more compliments the line began to decrease and they could enter. And arm suddenly wrapped itself around Mei's waist as she let out a small yelp. It was Hyung.

"Hi there."

"H-Hyung. Don't sneak up on me like that."

"Sorry about that. Just wanted to let you know I was here."

"Oh, okay then. Shall we go in then?"

Hyung nodded and they began to go inside. Xiang's hands were balled up in a fist and he grinded his teeth together. He was behind the others so he could hide this but somewhere inside, he felt depressed. The room was fit for dancing as the floors were smooth and tables were at a corner of the room for those who wanted to sit down. The girls found a place to set their things and then ran off to the dance floor. Xiang stood off to the side, just as reserved as ever as he watched his friends have fun. He then lost sight of them and decided to go to the table when a hand grabbed his. I turned around and saw Mei with a smile on her face.

"Come on Xiang. Dance with us."

Xiang sighed but accepted her proposal and came with her with the others. They began to dance the night away and the last hour of the dance came. The music's beat started to go faster and others began to crowd around and form a circle. The group of friends came closer and saw that others began their own competition in the form of dancing. Without any warning Hyung went into the center of the circle and began to dance. Somehow Xiang felt irritated and he asked Mei to hold his jacket for him as he went into the circle as well. The two Asians stared at each other before a new song began and they slowly started their movement.

They started out with standard moves before they began to move faster. Xiang stopped in order to allow Hyung to perform whatever he was planning to do and Hyung did a back flip, landing perfectly on his feet as the crowd applauded. He raised his head a flashed a smile towards Mei and Xiang only glared at him as he took the center now.

A new song started to play and Xiang started to dance to the growing beat. And in a quick flash of movement, Xiang leaped into a back flip and touching the ground with is feet before his hands met the floor as well. Having his hands firmly on the ground, Xiang kicked off the ground and began to spin around the floor, lifting his hands to match the rotation. The crowd began to applaud at his break dancing before Xiang stopped. He stood up quickly but it was short as he threw his hands to the ground and his legs into the air and began his air flares. Xiang's legs were rotating in the air as he maneuvered his hands to match the spinning. Eventually he stopped and stood, slightly panting from his dancing. The crowd erupted in applause as Xiang walked back to his friends.

"Xiang! That was amazing! I didn't know you could do that," exclaimed Mei.

"Well Arthur said I had to learn how to dance a few years back. I didn't know what he meant so I learned how to break dance. Six months later he asked me to show him what I learned and he was appalled. He then forced me to take "proper" dancing lessons."

"Wow, that's still amazing though. Wait, how come you said you can't dance then?"

"I never said I can't. I said I don't."

"Then what made you do all that?"

"I just wanted to have some fun," he lied.

"I can tell you're not telling me something Xiang. But I'll pry it from you after this."

"Sure you will," he teased.

Before Mei could respond, Hyung showed up behind her, asking for a dance as the song changed. It was a steady song, as the DJ announced that it was for pairs only. Xiang glared at Hyung before leaving the floor and finding a stop by the tables to wait.

Hyung placed his hands on her hips as she placed her hands on his shoulders. They danced steadily to the song. Mei felt awkward as she danced with Hyung; she didn't want Xiang to be alone off somewhere as she danced. Hyung then started to do something unexpected, he began to lean his face closer to Mei's. Mei turned slightly red as she realized what he was doing; she then pushed him away as he released his hold on her.

"W-what do you think you're doing!"

"Trying to give you a ki-"

"I know that! I meant, why are you trying to kiss me!"

"I just want to do what I couldn't for that play. What's the deference?"

"The deference is that it was a "play". And that already passed and I don't want to kiss you."

"You were probably still willing to kiss me then."

"I was not!"

"And I suppose you liked kissing that friend of yours then?"

"Leave Xiang out of this. He was just filling in."

"Avoiding the question? I suppose you like him then?"

"S-shut up! So what if I do?"

"Well then, I was right." Hyung then began to laugh slightly, "I hope this spiked him then."

"What are you talking about?" demanded Mei.

"I only did all of this to make that guy angry."

"W-what? Why would you do that?"

"Because I didn't like how he was so emotionless. I wanted to see him angry and what better way than to play with his emotions. But I knew he wouldn't be easy to budge so I thought to experiment. I saw how close you two were and it looked like he was the type to be protective of his friends, especially his best friend. I knew you two would be participating in the play so I came too. If it wasn't for me getting injured, I could've seen the look on his face when I would kiss you during the play. But my next chance came this week when I asked you to this dance."

"Wait, you did all of this to hurt Xiang?"

"Weren't you paying attention? Yes, I did all of this to make him angry."

"You're a messed up person!"

"So what if I am? And now that I know you like him, I can play with this a bit further."

"Like hell you are! I'm not gonna be part of this anymore."

"So what? Don't act like you don't know either. He doesn't feel the same way for you as you do for him."

"Shut up! How would you know anything?"

"I know that you wanted him to ask you to the dance. And you got turned down."

"W-what? How do you know that?"

"Rumors spread very easily around school you know? Now think about that. Why would he not ask you out if he didn't like you or feel anything for you? Even after you heavily applied it. Face it, he doesn't like you and you're a fool for trying to go after him."

Mei was startled by his statement but she was thinking, what if he's right. Why didn't Xiang ask her if she didn't like her? And even if he didn't, they could have gone as friends… maybe he really didn't like her at all. But he's her best friend… what does this mean then? Mei didn't want to hear him anymore; she didn't want to think anymore about the dance. She wanted to get away from it all. She then felt something wet run down her face, she slowly touched her face and realized she was crying. She turned away from him and began to run out of the room. She unknowingly ran pass Xiang who wondered what happened to her, and why tears began to fill her face.

Mei ran away from the building as a storm began to rage. She ran and ran until she lost all feeling in her body. Her vision started to become blurry with water and she felt her way onto some grass and then to a tree. She laid against it and hugged her knees close to body. Hyung was probably right, no one would ever like or love her. She really believed she found someone that would understand her but he ignored her, why?

The sounds of footsteps splashing against the water became louder but Mei ignored it all. Suddenly the sounds stopped and she felt a familiar figure near her. She lifted her head and there in front of her was Xiang.

He kneeled down next to her and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Why?" She asked.

"I saw you run out and I went to Hyung and demanded to know what happened."

"So you realize it too huh?" Xiang tilted his head in confusion. "What he said to me, it's true."

"No it isn't."

"Of course it is. Even the one I cared about the most didn't realize my feelings." Xiang then surprised her as he pulled her into a tight hug. They stayed in the position for a longest time as Mei let out her tears.

"I hate this. I hate how I always get into these weird situations and I hate it that I have to put you through it. I hate how I'm always so dependent on you…"

He then pulled away just enough so that she could see his face. Xiang held her firmly as the rain poured onto them. She stared into his mysterious dark brown eyes as he looked into hers. "It isn't a problem Mei, I don't care how hard or how troubling it is, if it's for you, I don't care what I have to do."

"B-but, I'm always too much trouble for you Xiang. I'm clumsy, I talk too much, I'm too loud sometimes a-and…"

Xiang stopped her as he gently kissed the top of her head. She then turned scarlet as she realized what he did. "Y-y-you, wh-wha, wh-why—" She couldn't think of what to say; he then held her tighter as she buried her face into his chest. "Wh-why did you do something like that…is-isn't it only for the person y-you l-li-like?" She closed her eyes, not believing she just asked him that.

"But I do like you. I like all those things about you because those traits are what make you, you. I always have."

She felt her body fill with a joyful warmth as he held her. "I-I like you too." She pulled her head away from his chest and he wiped the tears from her face.

"Don't cry Mei, you look more beautiful with a smile on your face."

She nodded shyly and a small smile appeared on her face. "I'm just sorry I made you come out here in the rain and miss the rest of the dance."

"It's okay. The girl I wanted to dance with wasn't there." He then stood up and took out his ipod and began to play a song. He then returned the device back into his pocket as the music started to play. He then offered his hand to her. "May I have this dance?"

She smiled and took his and gently. He helped her back onto her feet and wrapped his arms around her waist as she did the same with his neck. The two danced slowly as the rain gently touched them. As the song neared its end, the two adjusted their faces and stared into the others eyes. He into her brown and bright eyes, and she into his dark brown and mysterious ones. They both closed their eyes as the song came to an end. They leaned forward, and they kissed. It lasted for the longest time as they just held their connection until they slowly pulled away and opened their eyes.

"Thank you for the dance," Mei whispered.

"It was my pleasure."

"Same for me. Should we head back now?"

"I guess so, I don't want you catching a cold from this and its getting close to eleven."

"Okay then." The two unwrapped their arms from the other and began to walk back to the building. Xiang then moved his hand and gently held hers. They both smiled as they returned back.

They came back and Yue and Thai came rushing at them. "You guys! Where were you? We were getting worried and… wait, why are you two holding hands and why do you two look so hap- Oh, no way. Did you two? Are you two-"

"Let them talk Yue," interrupted Thai.

"I guess we are together now," answered Mei.

"I'm so happy for you Mei! Congratulations to the both of you."

"Thanks."

"Could you guys help us find some towels?" asked Xiang.

The two of them then scrambled to find the towels and returned. Instead of drying himself, he helped Mei dry herself. "We need to get you dried before Kiku comes to pick you up right?"

Just on cue, the dance ended and Xiang walked Mei to the exit. Before she left, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek as she waved goodbye. He held his hand to his cheek and smiled.

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Hetalia. All rights go to Hidekaz Himaruya

All credit of North Korea OC goes to Lo-wah.

A/N: I finally updated after about a month of not doing so. Sorry if you guys were waiting long but the good news is I was able to accomplish everything I set out to do during November. Anyway, how was the chapter? Reviews will be greatly appreciated. And thank you again to all those who read this story.


	13. Chapter 13 Late Night Date Mischief

Ch. 13 Late Night Date Mischief

Xiang and Mei were almost inseparable after the dance. They spent every minute they had free with each other, school and the time after it but unfortunately, they still couldn't go to each other's houses because the rule their guardian installed on them. But that's beside the point; almost a week had passed since the dance and Xiang wanted to ask Mei out on a proper date. The only keeping him from doing so however was his own nervousness. He sat in his room, Friday evening, staring at his phone. Every time he looked at the thing and thought about Mei, nervousness overtook his body and he turned away. Xiang always punched his pillow in frustration because of this but after he realized he turned his pillow into just a bunch of fluff, he had to just go and ask.

Shaky, he picks up his phone and dials Mei's number and waits as the ring goes off at a usual tone. Finally the ring stops and he hears that angelic voice that can only come from Mei. "Hey Xiang."

"H-hello to you too Mei."

"Xiang? Is something wrong? You sound nervous."

"D-do I? Didn't notice."

"Seriously, what's up?"

"W-well, I was wondering i-if you would g-go on a d-date with me t-tomorrow."

Mei giggled over the phone, "Of course, I would love to."

"Great. I'll meet you at the park and then we'll go to dinner tomorrow night."

"Sounds good. See you then Xiang."

"See you too Mei." Xiang closed his cell phone and let out a long sigh before falling onto his bed. Xiang pulled a smile onto his face and allowed himself to rest for a few minutes before he got up and took out a sheet of paper and his phone.

"Time to start planning," Xiang said to himself. Xiang began calling restaurants and reserving a spot for the date while at the same time, coming up with a budget that would allow him to find how much to pay for everything. Even if he couldn't do much, he wanted their first date to always be remember able. Looking at the clock, he saw that it was almost midnight and he was feeling fatigue wash over him. But refusing to rest until the planning was complete; he decided that a small break would have to suffice.

Xiang placed his phone down and rubbed his eyes. He got out of his seat and stretched out his tired body and could hear the slight cracking of his joints. Opening his room door, he began to go downstairs when he heard something. When he arrived downstairs, he saw Gilbert but then someone he didn't expect to see, his music teacher, Mr. Edelstein. They looked surprised to see Xiang in his pajamas but Gilbert seemed to break the silence.

"X-Xiang? What are you still doing up?"

"I was doing some work and decided to take a short break for some tea. Why is Mr. Edelstein here?"

"Oh Roddy. He's… just hanging out."

"You two hang out this late into the night?"

"Sure we do, we were just eh…planning to go out for a drink."

"It's really late though, I don't think Matthew would like that."

"Don't worry yourself. Besides Matthew is out of town right now doing something business like." Gil then got up and so did Roderich as they both headed to the door.

"It's was nice seeing you again Xiang," added Roderich. Xiang gave him a casual nod and they both exited the house, leaving Xiang alone. Xiang was incredibly suspicious of Gilbert now but he really couldn't do anything about it this late and he had to get back to planning. So he quickly ran into the kitchen, grabbing a pot of hot water and filling it was some tea leaves. He then grabbed some snacks and a cup and went back upstairs where he went back to work.

The faint lights of a new day slightly illuminated the room as Xiang rested on his desk. After a tireless night of work, he finished but allowed his fatigue to claim him the second he finished. The warmth from the light allowed Xiang to know the sun had risen and he opened his eyes softly as he stirred in his seat. He sleepily looked at his clock and realized it was the morning but since it was Saturday, he didn't have to get ready for anything besides tonight. Not wanting to be sleepy for his date, the drowsy Asian rose from his seat and made the effort to get to his bed. He welcomed the soft touch of his pillow and fell asleep once more, this time with a content look on his face as he realized that special moment with Mei was approaching.

When Xiang finally awoke, this time well rested, he saw the time was around three o'clock. He would meet up with Mei in another four hours which gave him plenty of time to get himself ready. Rubbing his eyes, he got up from his bed and went over to his table where he had prepared a list of things he had to accomplish before he went to meet up with Mei.

He would meet up with Mei at the park just as planned; give her his gift, dinner and then something else he planned as a surprise. All these thoughts ran through his mind as he cleaned himself up in a shower. After he got out, he began looking through his closet for the suit he had. He never thought he would actually willingly wear the suit that Arthur gave to him but he wanted to look nice for her. Xiang changed into the suit, making sure that everything looked right since he normally never wore a suit. The teen quickly glanced at his clock, reading it as 6: 30 pm.

Xiang made sure he had everything with him and nodded to himself, acknowledging that it was time to go. He exited his room and began to descend the stairs when the sound of yelling startled him. Xiang decided to wait behind the staircase, listening on the sounds coming from the living room.

"How could you do this! You've been cheating on me!"

"N-no, I can explain. It was just a stupid thing. It didn't mean anything."

"Then why didn't you tell me about it?"

"It wasn't anything serious. It was just a few dates here and there."

"I can't believe you would do this. Why would you do this?"

"I don't know why… it just happened."

"Do you still like him?"

"I…I want to say no but…"

"But what Gil? Do you still want to be with him?"

"I don't know. I'm afraid if I continue to do it; I'll only hurt him more by being with you… and I don't want to make things worse with you."

"Then take all the time you need to figure your crap out." Matthew stood up from his seat and walked out of the house, not saying or showing anything while leaving.

Xiang stood behind the staircase quietly as he came to realization about what jus occurred. But unlike Matthew, he wasn't going to let this get away. He quietly whispered to himself that he'd hope Mei would forgive him for being late. He marched down the rest of the stairs and stood in front of the fallen Prussia. Gil only looked up to meet Xiang's gaze before he opened his mouth to say something.

"What do you want Xiang?"

"I heard everything. Why Gilbert?"

"I don't know why…I guess I felt jealous and scornful that he still cares about Arthur so much even though we were together."

"But you couldn't have told him that? Why did you have to resort to this?"

"I don't know why. I guess I would have felt like an idiot for even suggesting it."

"And this is better than that?"

"No but… look at us now. It's over and it's all my fault…"

"It's only over when you give up Gilbert. Don't you love Matthew?"

Gilbert's head fell back down and in a whisper, "I do but…"

"But nothing Gilbert. If you still love him then there may be hope for you yet. Don't give up. Now get up, I have a plan."

Gilbert slowly stood up, believing in the Cantonese boy. "What's the plan then?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Huh? But why!"

"Your reactions must be natural or else he'll never believe you again. Just go with the flow, and I'll be assisting you two from the shadows." Xiang whipped out a card and handed it to Gilbert. "Go to this restaurant at exactly 7:15, you got that?"

Gilbert looked at the card and nodded in agreement. Xiang seemed satisfied for now but he knew he had his work cut out for him. Xiang kicked himself in his mind, realizing that he would definitely be late for his date. He truly hoped Mei would forgive him but as much as he cared about her, he couldn't just turn his face away from two people that needed help. After all, that's what they've been doing for a while now.

Xiang exited the household and took out his phone. He would have to do a lot of last minute planning and sacrifice some things he was planning to do with Mei, but he would make sure he fixed their relationship. Xiang walked out onto the sidewalk, going to the place where he knew he would see his brother. The park.

Xiang saw on his phone that the time was 6:45 so he'd be half an hour early to the park but at least he'd be there. Xiang entered the park; it seemed relatively deserted and silent save the unmistakable squeaking of the swings. He walked over to the sound and there sat Matthew, his head hung toward his chest as he stared at the ground. Matthew didn't seem to notice as Xiang took a seat next to him in the free swing.

"Matthew…"

Hearing his name, the Canadian lifted his head to see Xiang. "Xiang? Why are you here?"

"I came here to find you."

"I guess you overheard then…"

"I did, are you okay?"

"Can't say that I am. You should know why. Why do you think I would be doing fine?"

"Because I know you're stronger than this. I know people don't really pay attention to you most of the time but that's something that impresses me. You can still move forward despite that and make yourself known in your own ways. So now, I know you can move past this."

"Thanks Xiang but I can't really do that right now. I trusted him and he broke that trust. How could he do that to me?"

"He said he was jealous."

"Jealous of what?"

"Of how you seem to care about Arthur so much. He was jealous that you spent so much time worrying about him, I guess he felt betrayed. But I know what he did was wrong, despite that, he still loves you."

"But I just feel guilty about what I did to him; is it wrong to care about that? He shouldn't have acted this way because I'm with him, not Arthur… Even if you say that, I can't be sure…"

"That's all perfectly reasonable, but these things probably just can't help but happen. It's not your fault that you can care; it's not a bad thing at all. It's Gilbert's fault for that. But you still care about him right? You shouldn't let this destroy your relationship. Couples face these sort of things all the time, it reminds them that they are only human, that we can only do so much and that we are imperfect. But it's because of those imperfections that allow us to change. Because of we're perfect then there's nothing to do but because we are what we are, we can do more, so much more. So don't let something like this to get in your way, walk forward and face it, and then you'll both be able to meet each other at the end of that road and maybe you can walk together till the end of it."

Matthew's expression softened after hearing Xiang. But only by a bit, still it was a start. Xiang stood up and offered his hand to him. "Come on, now let's go. I got a surprise for you."

Matthew stared at Xiang's hand for a long moment before carefully placing his own into his. Xiang helped Matthew up from his seat and told him to come with him to someplace. The two walked through the park as the street lights just started to turn on, illuminating the area. They finally came to the exit and Xiang told Matthew that it wouldn't be long until they came to what he was talking about.

The two stood in front of a restaurant. Just from the exterior, Matthew could tell that it was a high class restaurant. The building was well made as it held an elegant design that would attract people, and the glass windows were shielded by a velvet red curtain. Xiang directed Matthew to go into the restaurant and he did so. Matthew looked around the high classed restaurant, feeling like an outsider due to his inexperience in the place. The restaurant had wonderful décor as it had the same shade of red curtains matching the floors. The walls had the design of vines and flowers flowing through. And what seemed capable of catching anyone's attention was the row of flowers that separated the tables from the others. A waiter soon came to Matthew, telling him that his date had already arrived to the table. Matthew at first wondered who this "date" could be but before he could ask the waiter, he was taken to the table.

In front of Matthew sat Gilbert who seemed to carry the same aura of confusion and outsider attitude but most of all tension instantly appeared when their eyes meet. Matthew reluctantly took a seat across from Gilbert and both of them sat in silence as a menu was placed in front of them. Gilbert opened his mouth to speak but was immediately interrupted by Matthew.

"Why are you here?" he demanded.

"I-" Gilbert was again interrupted as a balled up paper hit him behind his head. He turned and saw Xiang hiding behind a row of flowers, signaling him to come over. Gilbert excused himself and went over to Xiang. To make sure Matthew wouldn't be able to see them; Xiang grabbed Gilbert and pulled him down, using the flowers to hide themselves.

"What is it Xiang?"

"Take credit for all of this, okay?"

"What? But I can't do that. You know how expensive this place looks, I can't do that to you, no matter how awesome it would make me look."

"Well you're going to. Matthew has to think that you did this for him. Just talk it out with him okay. Promise me that you'll tell him the truth and that'll be enough for me. Now go." Without giving him the chance to argue in return, Xiang pushed Gilbert out from behind the flowers and disappeared before Gilbert could find him again. He didn't want to keep Matthew waiting so he returned to the table.

"What was that about?" Matthew asked.

"It was nothing, just had to have a little talk with someone."

"Oh? So explain yourself."

"...Right… I'm here because I wanted to tell you, I'm sorry. I really do love you Matthew. If you have any more questions, could you please ask me after we eat? I'm kinda starving." Matthew sighed at him but agreed since he also wanted to eat. They ordered their meals and ate. The tension in the air seemed to lighten a bit as they enjoyed their meals. A compliment or two being thrown to each other. With their meals finished, Matthew was dead set on having his questions answered.

"Why did you cheat on me?" he stated bluntly.

"Because I felt neglected. You were worrying over Arthur so much that I felt like you didn't love me, like you regretted going with me…"

"Gilbert! I would never regret the decision I made. I chose you not Arthur."

"Then why…"

"Because I'm worried for him! I may not love him as much as I do you but he's still my friend. He just ran away from his home because of what I did, don't you think I'd feel guilty about that? I'm sorry if I neglected you but I thought you would realize this…"

"I'm sorry Mattie… I-I never realized that. Or rather, I was too caught up in wanting your attention to notice. I'm sorry for everything I've done."

"Is that all you can say?"

"W-ha…"

"Because even if I accept your explanation… I can't forgive you that easily Gilbert… I just can't."

"But Mattie…"

"No, just stop…" Matthew got up from his seat and turned his back on Gilbert. "Thanks for the meal Gil, I'll be going now."

Matthew began his exit from the restaurant and Gilbert just sat there, frozen in place by what he said. The closing of the door finally broke the silence in his mind and he got up from his seat, thanking the waiter for his service before leaving. Matthew walked at a moderate pace down the sidewalk and Gilbert ran after him to catch up.

After a few minutes Gilbert managed to find Matthew, stopping him by holdings his wrist. Matthew turned around, shocking Gilbert to see that tears were streaming down his face.

"Please wait Mattie."

"Why should I…"

"Because I didn't finish. Please listen. I made a mistake. I can't say that I didn't mean to do it but I didn't know how you felt. It was wrong of me for what I did and I'm truly sorry. But I do love you. I love you with all my heart but I got lost along the way. Please…"

Matthew's eyes softened as he turned around to fully meet Gilbert face to face. Without saying anything Matthew embraced Gilbert; Gilbert quickly returning the hug and holding him tenderly as he cried.

From the corner of his eye, Gilbert could see the young Asian hiding in the shadows of a building, only slightly seen because of the street light. Gilbert mouthed a thank you to the Asian boy and Xiang nodded towards him. He turned around and left the two to be alone as he was finally satisfied with his mission.

Xiang walked silently down the sidewalk when he remembered something… Mei. He checked the time on his phone and it read 9:00. He quickly dialed her number, hoping to be able to reach her. His phone rung but no one answered. Xiang sighed, Mei probably went home after he ditched her. Xiang hurried himself home, thinking of a way to make it up to her in the morning.

* * *

(Back track to the night before)

Mei sat quietly in her room, surfing the internet for something to do when she noticed her phone light up with its ring. She quickly grabbed the device and checked the ID and smiled at the caller. She opened the phone and replied happily.

"Hey Xiang."

"H-hello to you too Mei."

She wondered about his nervousness and asked. "Xiang? Is something wrong? You sound nervous."

"D-do I? Didn't notice."

"Seriously, what's up?"

"W-well, I was wondering i-if you would g-go on a d-date with me t-tomorrow."

Mei giggled at how he repeated all his letters but happily replied, "Of course, I would love to."

"Great. I'll meet you at the park and then we'll go to dinner tomorrow night."

"Sounds good. See you then Xiang."

"See you too Mei."

Mei closed her phone and squealed in delight at what had just occurred. She wanted tomorrow to come faster but more than anything she wanted to be with Xiang. Mei got up from her seat and strolled over to her bed, plopping onto it. She knew that she had to try and get some sleep or else she'd be up all night thinking about tomorrow. With that in mind, she drifted off into slumber.

The morning came quickly but Mei was her usual self, grudgingly emerging from her bed to get ready for the day. Mei spent her day preparing herself for her date tonight. Things like picking out her dress and doing her hair were the predominant things that took up her time. Mei took one final look at herself in the mirror and felt satisfied with her appearance. She began to waltz downstairs and took out her phone to check the time. The time was 6:30 so she would be right on time if she walked to the park and maybe get some more time with Xiang if they were both early.

Mei walked quietly as she went towards the park. All was well in her mind until she noticed a girl sitting alone on a bench, her head hung. But what really caught her attention were the tears that dripped down to the ground. Mei slowly walked up to the girl who seemed completely oblivious to her presence. Mei began to worry over the girl, her conscious told her that it wouldn't be at all right to leave this girl alone and sobbing. She quietly sat next to the poor girl and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright?" Mei asked.

The girl slowly lifted her head and looked at Mei with her puffy red tear stained eyes. "W-who are you?" she sniffed.

"My name is Mei. But more importantly, are you alright? Why are you sitting here crying alone?"

"I-it's nothing… I don't want to trouble you…"

"Nonsense! It wouldn't be right of me at all to leave such a cute girl such as yourself alone."

"I'm actually older than I look you know…"

"Oh sorry, I guess you can take it as a compliment right?"

The girl managed a small smile. "I guess it is. Thanks. My name is Angelique. Nice to meet you Mei."

"Yay! I got you to smile."

"Thanks again."

"It's not a problem… so do you mind telling me what's wrong?"

"I guess so… it's just I'm tired of it."

"Tired of what?"

"I'm tired of Francis always flirting with every girl he sees. It's almost as if he doesn't love me…"

"Who's Francis?"

"Oh right… he was someone I cared about."

"I'm sure that's not the case. I'm sure he does care about you."

"Then why does he always go around doing these things! He ignores me as if I'm not even there and he goes around flirting. It hurts me to see that…"

Mei could see the hurt overflowing inside of Angelique. But that pain also meant that she really did care about this Francis as well. "Don't worry; I'll get to the bottom of this. Everyone deserves to have that special someone. But promise me you just won't sit here crying, it doesn't fit someone as beautiful and sweet as you."

Angelique nodded and stood up. "I'll wait at my friend's restaurant then. Here's my number, I'll talk to you later then…"

"Of course you will, don't worry, everything will be fine. Just make sure to take care of yourself."

"I feel bad though. I don't want to trouble you like this."

"Don't worry so much; me and my boyfriend do this all the time." Mei mentally giggled to herself; it was odd to think of Xiang as her boyfriend now. But she then just remembered that she might be late to her date if she were to do this. She hoped that Xiang would forgive her for this but she did have a good reason.

Mei got up from her seat and gave Angelique a quick hug. "Just you wait; I'll make sure you two have your happy ending. Could you tell me what he looks like and where he usually hangs out?"

"Oh he looks like this," Angelique pulled out a photo of the man; he had somewhat long blond hair and carried the sense of fashion and looks that a Frenchman would have. "And he usually hangs around town near the park."

"Thanks a lot; this will be of great help." Mei began to walk towards the park, waving goodbye to Angelique.

Mei began her stroll around the park area, searching for any signs of Francis but as the sun began to set, the light wasn't helping her in her search. Just when she was about to lose hope, she saw a glimmer of blond hair in the distance. Hoping it to be Francis, she walked over in that direction and to her joy, it was Francis. He was idly standing around on the side walk, greeting any ladies that came by with a red rose.

Mei walked up to the Frenchman and he pulled on a grand smile and presented her a rose. "Bonjour mon cher. What is someone as lovely as yourself doing around here?"

"Yeah, thanks for the rose and all but I'm taken."

Francis seemed somewhat disappointed but came back with his smile. "Is that so? Well someone as lovely as yourself should still accept this rose. It adds to your beauty."

"Well I'll just cut right to the point, I'm here about Angelique."

"Ah Angelique, ma belle rose. What news do you bring of her?"

Mei felt annoyed by Francis lack of knowledge of the situation. He truly was oblivious to how Angelique felt. "Are you for real? You have no idea the trouble you've brought to that girl."

"What do you mean?"

"You've hurt her with your constant flirting that's what. I understand why she was so sick of it, I even felt annoyed by it even though it was alluring. You're loyalty seriously needs work."

Francis lost his humorous presence and became serious. "I-I hurt her?"

"You did."

"I… I never meant to hurt her. You have to believe me. I really do care about her."

"Well you don't show it. She says that you ignore her and do this blatantly in front of her."

"I never meant to her. This is just a habit of mine… I would never forget about her. She's wonderful, the greatest and most beautiful woman I've ever will know."

"You shouldn't be telling that to me. Tell it to her."

"You're right but how can I face her. I can't lie to her; I know I won't be able to break this habit of mine that easily."

"If you two really cared about each other, then you would work on it. Working to change it is better than never trying to fix it in the first place."

"You're right but how can I…"

"It'll take time but first thing to do is get you two to understand each other. And I have a plan for that. I want you to head down to the beach alright? Don't ask any questions."

Mei began to walk away, leaving Francis in a somewhat confused state but regardless, he would do what he'd been told. Taking out her cell phone, she dialed the number she received from Angelique. After a few moments, she told the girl to go down to the beach and that things would become clear when she arrived there. Mei began to go down to the beach herself after she checked up on the surprise she had for Xiang. She didn't want to use this but it had to be done.

Francis stood at the edge of the beach as night fell and the stars in the sky became vibrant in their bright colors. The only sounds that could be heard were the slow rushing of the waves and the water that crashed onto the rocky shores beyond the edge of the shore. Angelique walked slowly across the sand and towards the shadowy figure she saw. Mei hadn't explained much to her except telling her to go find the sole person of the beach and here she was doing just that. As she came closer to the figure, his features began to come into focus and she realized who she was walking toward and stopped right where she stood. Francis turned his face from the ocean and looked straight at Angelique.

"Angelique…"

"Francis…"

"Angelique… I'm truly sorry. Please listen to me."

"So I figure you learned?"

"I did. Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Because I thought you'd realize it! I thought you'd realize my pain, as I slipped further away from you… I was wrong."

"I'm truly sorry mon cher. I never noticed… that ignorance of mine, caused this for me but the main source of the problem is myself. I should have realized that my habit wouldn't be suited for a relationship. I should have changed…"

"Maybe you should have but I'm not asking for you to change everything about you. What's the point in changing yourself if you're not you anymore? All I'm asking you is to please realize how much I care for you and for you to control that habit. I know you can't change immediately but I want you to just notice me…"

"But I always notice you Angelique. You're one of the most important people in my life. You're special and nothing can ever change that. I was blinded… but now you've helped me to see what's really important."

"I don't know what to say…"

Francis walked up to her and held her close. "You don't have to say anything. I love you Angelique, those feelings for you burn so intensely within me that I don't know what to do with them."

The two remained together, in a close embrace as the night carried on. Suddenly the sounds of something flying into the air rang and explosions replaced the silence. Both looked into the air and saw fireworks flying into the sky. The bright colors illuminated the night as the two watched in amazement. Silently

Mei stood at another end of the beach but she watched with a smile at what she was able to do for the two of them. The only thing she regretted was that she was saving these for her date with Xiang. After all, he loved fireworks. She opened her phone and saw the time as 8: 59. Just as she was about to call Xiang, her phone died. She silently cursed, of all times, it had to die now. Mei sighed, she couldn't do anything for tonight and Xiang probably left for home since it was late. Mei began to walk home, she didn't live far from the beach fortunately so she returned home within due time. The thing that still upset her was, how Xiang would feel since she ditched him.

* * *

The morning came quickly and the silence of Xiang's household seemed too quiet for his liking. He got out of bed and went down the stairs to see Matthew and Gilbert sitting on the couch, almost as if they were waiting for him. They greeted the Asian and told him that they had some news for him. Xiang, still sleepy, walked down the stairs and took a seat across from them.

"Xiang, we want to thank you for what you did," announced Matthew.

Xiang opened his eyes in curiosity and then turned his attention to Gilbert. "I told him Xiang. I just couldn't let you give me all the credit."

"It doesn't change anything though so don't worry Xiang. The dinner was nice but being able to talk was much better. We also want to apologize to you. We figured out that you had a date that night."

Xiang pulled a small smile, "It's alright. It was an important night but after all those things I did with her; it would be a disgrace to what we've done if I just let something like this happen. Much less to the people I care about."

"You're too kind Xiang. But we wanted to thank you so we did a little something for you," said Matthew. Xiang looked at him, wondering what it was until Gilbert blurted out.

"We called Mei and she's coming over now."

Xiang's eyes quickly became wide in shock. Mei was coming to his house now. He quickly leaped out of his seat and went up to his room. If Mei was coming, she would definitely be mad at him for ditching her last night. And he looked like a mess. As he pulled himself out of his pajamas, the door bell rang and he rushed to fix himself up. All he could manage was his usual attire as he went downstairs, hiding a bouquet of flowers he got to apologize to her. When he came downstairs, Mei was already sitting on the couch.

"Hey Xiang, good morning," she announced.

Matthew and Gilbert excused themselves, leaving the two alone in the room. "Morning Mei.." They both approached each other, hands behind their backs. Then at the same time they screamed.

"I'm sorry!" Both looked at the other in confusion. "What are you talking about?" they said in unison. "Stop that." Both began to become frustrated. "Okay you first. No you. Just wait!" Both pulled out what they hid behind their backs and presented it to the other. Xiang gave the flowers to Mei and Mei gave Xiang a panda plushy. They both nodded to each other to sit down and they both took a deep breath.

"Okay, I'll go first I guess," exclaimed Xiang. "I couldn't make it last night to our date because I was helping Matthew and Gilbert with their relationship."

"Seriously? Because I couldn't make it last night because I was helping Angelique and Francis."

Xiang looked at her with a confused gaze but Mei explained how she found the two. "Oh so I guess we both couldn't make it…"

"…And we just apologized for something we both did…" The two suddenly burst into laughter. After a few moments they were able to calm down as they hugged the other.

"I guess everything worked out in the end."

"Except one thing Xiang."

"We never got to go on our date?"

"Yep. So I thought we could do something together here and watch a movie I brought with me."

"That sounds nice." Mei nodded in response and they began to watch the movie, turning off the lights to better the viewing. Mei snuggled up to Xiang as he wrapped one arm around her, pulling her close as their first date commenced.

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Hetalia. All rights go to Hidekaz Himaruya

A/N: I finally managed to update, yay! Sorry it took so long guys. I would have gotten it in sooner if it wasn't for this cold that was killing me for a week of winter break. And yesterday was my birthday too so I couldn't do much then. Well all and all, I got it done. Also for you guys who don't know, Angelique is Seychelles and Francis is France. I just thought it'd be funny for this situation to happen so I wrote it. Also for those of you concerned about Arthur, he's coming back in the next chapter so expect some more drama with him. I really appreciate the reviews, they make me really happy :D Thanks again to the readers and reviewers. See you next update~


	14. Chapter 14 Return And Realization

Ch. 14 Return and Realization

As the movie played, the two enjoyed the other's presence far more than anything else. The movie ended soon enough but the lights remained off since neither of the two wanted to leave their spots. Mei was snuggled up tightly to Xiang, leaning her head on his shoulder and he with her.

"What should we do now?" Xiang asked softly.

"I'm not really sure. Are you up for anything?" she asked in return.

"If it's with you then I don't mind at all."

Mei smiled and began to press herself closer to Xiang. She gently wrapped her arms around his neck as she got closer to a confused Xiang. "M-Mei? W-what are you doing?" he asked nervously.

Mei smirked, "You said you were up for _anything_ as long as it was with me right?"

"R-right."

"Then we're doing just that," she replied simply.

Mei leaned forward and gently pressed her lips against his as he exerted his own amount of pressure to hers. Mei could feel the warmth from him as he tenderly kisses her back. When they finally parted, both were breathless as they remained in each other's arms. Xiang slipped his arms around her waist as he pulled her in for another kiss. She returned it as he gradually deepened the kiss. She could feel her insides becoming hot as she melted into his arms. They slowly pulled away from each other panting slightly. Xiang fell back onto the couch as Mei allowed herself to fall into his arms as the two readied for another kiss.

The lights suddenly flashed on and interrupted the two's time together. Both turned their heads to the hallway as footsteps began to echo from it. Slowly a shadow appeared and began to enlarge until the figure could be recognized. Emerging from the hallway was Arthur and Alfred.

Xiang couldn't believe that he had returned but he also couldn't shrug off the thought that Arthur really had bad timing. But something was off about his usual demeanor. He was slightly hunched, his mouth opened and red appeared in his cheeks; he was drunk. Xiang used his elbows and pushed himself and Mei up so that they were once again sitting but they remained in each other's arms. Arthur looked at the two and held a smile to his face.

"Ah~ Hello Xiang, it's *hic* been a while hasn't it?"

"It has but why are you back now?"

"Oh don't worry about it~ I just decided to come back. I've been away for too long." Xiang looked suspicious. He couldn't believe Arthur would come back for no reason and also because he was drunk. "Oh who's your friend Xiang? She's pretty."

Xiang opened his mouth to answer but Alfred stepped in first. "Maybe you should go rest Artie."

"What are you talking about? I'm fine. And she's single~"

Mei blushed slightly as Xiang held her tighter and closer. "I think she's taken. And you should go rest, come on now."

"Aww… fine then." Arthur grudgingly began to head towards his room until he started to stumble into the furniture. Alfred sighed and helped guide Arthur to his room, leaving the two teens alone again. Mei leaned into Xiang's chest and sighed.

"Maybe I should go now…"

"Why?" he asked, surprised.

"I really shouldn't even be here. Remember what Kiku-nii said? I should leave." Mei stood up from her spot and began to leave until Xiang grabbed her wrist.

"Please stay."

"But Xiang…"

"Please Mei… I need you right now." Mei turned around to look at him and saw his desperate expression. She smiled softly and nodded to him.

"I'll stay then."

It was Xiang's turn to smile and he got up from the couch as well. "We should go to my room. We can talk more privately there." Mei nodded and the two went upstairs. Xiang closed his bedroom door as Mei plopped onto his bed. She patted the spot next to her and Xiang went over and sat down.

"So what are we going to talk about?"

"I think you know. Arthur."

"I thought as much… what about it?"

"It's just, I'm suspicious. Why would he come back now, of all times? There has to be a reason but we clearly can't get any answers from him right now, he's too loopy to be reasoned with."

"True, I can't blame you for not being suspicious. But you have to trust that he'll tell you eventually and if not, we could always ask Alfred if he doesn't mind."

"You're right and I didn't think of that. I'll ask first thing tomorrow then."

"Why not just go and ask Alfred right now?"

Xiang smirked and suddenly wrapped his arms around Mei. "Because, we couldn't finish what we were doing." Mei blushed but smiled.

"I guess you want to finish?" She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close.

"You guessed right. But just for a bit longer." Xiang smiled and kissed her tenderly.

Later on into the evening, Mei had to return home since it was getting late. She gave Xiang a quick hug before leaving and wished him luck at his information gathering. Xiang walked back into the house after saying goodbye to Mei and saw Alfred sitting on the couch, his head hung. Xiang walked quietly over to Alfred and took a seat across from him. Xiang let out a soft cough, alerting Alfred of his presence.

"Oh hello Xiang. Did your girlfriend leave?"

"She did. But more importantly, I need to know, why are you guys now returning?"

Alfred sighed, "I knew I would get asked that. It's best if I explain from the beginning. It basically began after that trip. Arthur came to me but it wasn't the same Arthur I knew. He seemed lifeless… When I tried to ask him what was wrong he asked me to take him home. Actually more like he begged me to in that low tone he had. I did what I could and took him home. He didn't say a single word during the ride home. When we got back to his place he started writing a note and then afterwards he told me that he wasn't going to be home. At this point I really wanted to know what was up but he didn't want to explain and asked me if I could keep him company sometimes. I couldn't refuse him so afterwards we left."

"I kind of figured that that's what happened. But what happened after that is what I care about. What happened when he left? Why is he back now?"

"I was getting to that man. He started to live in a hotel close to work after wards. All he ever did was work and work. I checked up on him from time to time but all he did was work. It seemed like he was an empty shell. I tried talking to him but he wouldn't say much. Then finally one day I was able to convince him to go drink with me since he was almost working himself to death. After the first drink he started to spew things about what happened. About Matthew, him choosing Gilbert and his depression. I can't say I'm happy or sad about this though…"

"So that's what happened. Can't say what? If you don't mind me asking."

Alfred turned his head away from Xiang and seemed to be biting his lip. "I-I don't know if I should…"

"It's your decision. I won't push for it. If you want to tell me, then do so."

Alfred's cheeks began to redden. "F-fine. I-I really like Arthur. I care about him a lot. There I said it!"

Xiang blinked a couple of times before he realized what Alfred just confessed. "Y-you do?"

"Yes I do. I've been with him for so long and I've always tried to be his hero and be there for him. But he always seemed attracted to Matthew more than me… I guess Matthew and I switched places in this case. He never noticed how I felt about him."

Xiang's stoic expression softened after hearing this. "Is that so? I'm sorry for how it turned out for you. Now I know why you said that you were happy and sad. You're happy that Arthur didn't go with Matthew but you're sad to see Arthur in this state."

"That's right. I know it's completely selfish of me to be like this but I can't help it. But I hate seeing him like this. I can't do anything for him…"

"He just needs to realize what really matters. Don't worry Alfred; I'm sure you'll be able to make him feel better. In fact, I think I have an idea."

"Huh? What is it?"

"I can't tell you that just yet. I don't have everything planned out but I have an idea. I have to go make a call now."

"How do I know you won't just call your girlfriend and leave me hanging?"

Xiang chuckled. "That's exactly who I'm going to call to help you out." Alfred had a confused state on his face and Xiang began to head up the stairs. "Oh, also when Arthur wakes up, tell him I'm cooking dinner for tonight so don't worry about it." Xiang ran upstairs and took out his phone, calling Mei. The moment she picked up, he explained everything he heard from Alfred and they immediately started to plan for the next day.

* * *

The morning light came in through the window and covered Arthur's sleeping face. Soon, Arthur opened his eyes but shunned away from the sun light, burying his face in his pillow. He placed one of his hands on his aching head, cursing alcohol. After another hour of lying in his bed, his door burst opened with Alfred and his incredibly bright smile greeting Arthur.

"Hey Arthur! Get up! It's time for breakfast, and we won't have your cooking so we're waiting on you."

Arthur made a loud groan and he pulled his head out of the covers. "Be quiet you git. My head is killing me."

"Well maybe you shouldn't have drunken so much then."

"What? You're the one who told me that drinking that much would be okay," he retorted.

"It's your fault for listening to me," teased Alfred. "Anyway, hurry up, breakfast is getting cold." Arthur made no signs of getting out of bed so Alfred ran over to the Brit and threw him over his shoulders, taking him into the dining room, despite his protest. Arthur landed soundly onto the padded chair and looked forward at his plate. It was filled with your usual breakfast items of pancakes, bacon, eggs and sausages and a glass of orange juice on the side. Arthur looked up from his plate and saw Xiang sitting across from him, quietly eating his meal.

"Welcome back," he greeted casually.

Arthur smiled at the welcome they had for him and began to eat his meal. It had been a long time since he had eaten a home cooked meal since he had been going out to eat ever since he left the house. While eating, he was trying to remember what was happening when he got back to the house. His memories were still fuzzy as he tried to recall them. All he could remember was Alfred and Xiang sitting with someone… Suddenly, the memory hit him hard as he remembered Xiang was not just sitting with someone, he had his arms wrapped around her and he remembered it was the cousin of his hated rival.

"Xiang, why was that girl over here?" he asked.

Xiang seemed startled by the question but his face remained unchanged. "I was hanging out with her…"

"I thought I told you that she couldn't come over here."

"You never said that."

"What? You must be mistaken, I must have…"

"You said that I couldn't go to her house, not the other way around, so it's perfectly fine," he retorted.

Arthur let out a small scowl. "Fine, you're not in trouble then. But I don't want her coming over to this house anymore."

Xiang frowned at him but knew better than to argue with the stubborn Brit. Instead, Xiang quickly finished the rest of his breakfast and stood up. "Fine then. I'll be heading out then."

Arthur glared at his step-brother. "Where?"

"Just somewhere." Xiang pulled out a small business card and slid it across the table to Arthur. "You should go there sometime, it's a nice place to drink tea and think." With that, Xiang exited the room and the house.

Arthur picked up the card and looked at the contents curiously. A tea shop called the _Pearl Blossom._ He did enjoy drinking good tea and if Xiang suggested it, then it couldn't be that bad. Arthur finished off his breakfast when Alfred stood up from the table. Arthur raised an eye brow at him and he returned with a smile.

"Sorry Artie, I have to go to work. But if you don't mind, could you meet with me at six later?"

"Umm sure." Alfred's smile brightened and he headed out of the house, leaving Arthur alone in the home. Arthur couldn't go to work because his co-workers told him that he had to take a vacation because of his health, so Arthur sat by himself with the newspaper in front of his face, just trying to pass the time.

* * *

Xiang and Mei were busily running around town trying to make sure their plan went off without a hitch. Xiang had told Alfred in the morning to ask Arthur to meet him a six o'clock for a surprise "date". Alfred was unsure of it at first but after some convincing, he warmed up to the idea. Xiang already called Yao, telling them of their plan and his part in it; Arthur would most certainly go to the shop. Besides that part, it was the date that mattered and making Arthur feel better was the ultimate goal.

"Xiang, are you sure everything will work out?"

"I'm not sure but this has to at least make him feel better. He needs to enjoy himself instead of working himself to death or just lying around the house."

"Hmm I see, you're a good brother then. But what are we going to do after setting up everything?"

"That part is easy. We watch over them while we have some fun ourselves."

"Oh, that sounds great! I just hope this works out."

"Don't worry, I'm sure it will."

* * *

Arthur lazily lied on the couch with the newspaper covering his face. He had nothing to do in the house. Arthur removed the newspaper from his face and looked at his watch. He read six o'clock. He sighed and got up from his spot. He then took out the card that Xiang handed him this morning. Shrugging to himself, he stood up and grabbed his jacket and headed out the door.

The evening air was slightly chilly as it touched Arthur's face. Arthur tried to burry himself inside his coat as much as possible as he walked through downtown. Finally he reached the tea shop. He entered the shop and the alluring smell of tea entered his body. He found himself a seat and took off his jacket, hanging it on a spare chair. He looked around the shop as the Asian décor matched perfectly with the theme of the shop.

"Ni hao! Welcome to the Pearl Blossom ~aru. What would you like to order?"

Arthur looked up to see Yao, wearing his uniform. "Oh, I would like earls grey if you have that."

"Right away ~aru." Arthur watched as the Chinese man ran back behind the counter and brewed his tea. Arthur sighed and leaned back into his chair. After a moment Yao returned and placed his tea in front of him. "Enjoy ~aru"

"Thank you." Arthur picked up the tea cup and sipped the tea. The flavor was deep and rich yet it was clean as well. He placed his cup back down. "This is very good tea."

"I'm glad you enjoy it ~aru." Yao did something unexpected to Arthur and sat down across from him. "There's something wrong with you ~aru."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh my name is Yao by the way. But anyway, it seems like you're… depressed about something ~aru."

"I am not. How dare you insinuate that?"

"It's written all over your face ~aru"

"Well… so what if I am?"

"Then you should try solving it."

"But I don't know how to… and it isn't something that you can just fix like magic… it takes time and something special."

"Ah, you understand that much ~aru. But maybe there's something else you're not seeing."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well how do you know you don't have the special thing right now? You haven't thought about it have you? Maybe you've been blinded by your depression. Unable to see pass the past tragedies. For all you know, that special thing could be right in front of you and you wouldn't ever realize that because you can't let go of that thing you lost. ~aru"

Arthur repeated the words that Yao just said over and over in his head. It's as if he knew exactly what happened to him and understood something about his depression. He has been longing in that depression. It's been on his mind for the longest time and it still is. He didn't let go to what he lost and never will have… Yet he still had people who cared about him. And now that he thought about it, one in particular stood with him through his time of darkness and that has been his friend for the longest time.

"I think you're right. I have been blinded." Arthur stood up from his seat and paid for the tea. "Thank you for your advice."

Yao smiled and also stood up. "It wasn't a problem umm what was your name again? ~aru"

"Arthur. Arthur Kirkland. Thank you again."

Arthur exited the shop and tried to return home as quickly as possible. Remembering that Alfred wanted to meet with him at six o'clock and it was close to that time. Arthur returned home with a minute to spare but his breathing was hard as he entered his home. Right on cue, Alfred emerged from his guest room.

"Hey Arthur, you ready?"

"Ready for what?"

"Ready to have fun, what else!" Alfred grabbed Arthur's hand and pulled him out of the house and into his car. Arthur went with Alfred without any complaints since he really did need it and he had something else he had to do to.

The two arrived at busy parking lot. Arthur wondered what Alfred was planned but he didn't show any signs of telling him. Although after a few minutes of walking, he figured it out himself, they were at a carnival.

"Alfred? What is this?"

"It's a carnival you idiot. Come on, let's go have some fun!" Again Arthur was taken by Alfred but they ran straight towards the park and began to enjoy themselves. They walked through the stands, looking at anything that might've interested them. Except that was an understatement. Alfred went to every stand and beat every challenge as they got to it. After about half an hour of playing, Alfred was already carrying a huge stake of prizes that he won.

"Well, you sure know how to play these things."

"I won them for you though."

Arthur was surprised as Alfred confessed this. "R-really?"

"Well yeah, I wanted you to have fun while here and I thought some of these would make you happier."

Arthur blushed slightly, "well um… thank you Alfred. They are nice."

Alfred smiled brightly as they continued on with their fun. Arthur wanted to try a water shooting game and at his first time, he failed miserably as he couldn't even aim correctly. He tried a second time only to begin the same as the first. Alfred chuckled at the sight and went behind Arthur, helping him aim his gun. Eventually the balloon popped, winning him a prize. Arthur won a large stuff bear but he offered it to Alfred.

"You helped me win it and I wanted to give it to you in the first place."

Alfred smiled and gratefully took the bear. "Thanks Arthur." The two continued to walk down to other stands, finding some treats along the way.

Unbeknownst to them, Xiang and Mei were close behind to them, watching them have their fun and making sure that nothing went wrong. They always remained a few stands behind just to make sure that they couldn't be spotted. At one point they thought they had been spotted but it was a false alarm.

"Xiang, how long do we have to follow them?" No reply came. "Xiang?" Mei looked over her shoulder and saw Xiang at a stand, throwing a ball against some bottles. "Xiang? What are you doing?"

Xiang concentrated and threw his last ball, knocking down all the bottles. The proprietor came over and handed him a large tiger plushy. "I got this for you."

Mei smiled and took the plushy. "Thanks Xiang."

"It's nothing; we have to have some fun too right?" Mei nodded and they continued walking hand and hand.

Arthur looked at his watch and saw that it was past eight. He looked back up at Alfred. "Hey Alfred. Why did you want me to come with you to this place?"

"Didn't I tell you to have fun?"

"You did but… why me?"

Alfred seemed to stiffen slightly. "Because I really care about you Arthur. I didn't want to see you so sad."

Arthur pulled a small smile onto his face. "Is that so? Well thank you."

"Arthur… there's more to why I asked you to come here with me…" Alfred took a deep breath in as he readied himself. "Arthur I-"

"Wait Alfred. I need to say something first," interrupted Arthur. "I'm sorry for what I've put you through. I've been blinded… too blinded to see what you've been trying to do for me. And now that I've done something clear thinking, I want to tell you that I really care about you too. More than a friend…"

Alfred smiled and pulled Arthur close to him, making him blush deeply. "You didn't let me finish Artie. I wanted to say, that I've liked you for a long time."

Arthur blushed furiously but he leaned into Alfred's touch. Arthur looked up to Alfred and slowly they closed the distance between them and their lips connected. Their kiss lasted for only a brief moment but they slowly pulled away as a smile appeared on both of their faces.

The two began to walk down the path once again, much happier than before. They arrived at a Ferris wheel and decided to take one ride on the giant wheel. They got into their compartments and their slow and steady ride began. The two sat by each other, Arthur leaning his head onto Alfred's shoulder. The two were closely followed by Xiang and Mei who were riding on another compartment. Mei nodded towards Xiang and Xiang took out a small box and pressed the button on it.

From a distance, fireworks began to shoot into the sky, illuminating the dark skies with brilliant colors of all sorts. The sudden burst of colors and sound caught the two's attention. Thy turned their heads and silently watched the array of colors. Xiang and Mei smiled, satisfied that their mission was successful.

Xiang and Mei walked through the dark streets of the night. Neither said a word but both held a smile on their faces at the stunning night they had. "So you had fun?"

"I did. Except if I spent it with, how couldn't it be fun?"

Xiang softened his smile. "Yeah, I guess your right. I'm happy that you had fun and that we were able to help Arthur."

"Do you think he'd soften up to our relationship if we told him that we set everything up?"

"It's possible but then again, he is really stubborn to these things. Except when he found out this morning, he didn't seem completely against it. We should be fine with him."

"Oh I see, well as long as we can still be together."

"Yeah, is Kiku okay with this?"

"Umm, when I tried to tell him he went off reminding me that I'm not allowed to be associated with Arthur…"

"It'll be okay Mei." The two finally made it to Mei's house. They stood in front of the door but Mei pulled herself closer to Xiang. "Thanks for the wonderful night."

Xiang held her tenderly as he stared into her eyes. "It was my pleasure." As they began to close the distance between them, the lights turned on and they let go of each other. The next second, Kiku opened the door.

"You're finally home."

"Umm yeah, well bye Xiang." Kiku nodded and returned back into the house. As Xiang turned to leave, Mei quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Xiang returned the kiss with as much time as they could spare before they had to part.

"See you tomorrow Mei." The two smiled and Mei went inside, slowly closing the door as she waved to him. Xiang began his walk home, satisfied with the amazing night he had.

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Hetalia. All rights go to Hidekaz Himaruya

A/N: I finally updated again. Sorry it took so long people. School and stuff. Also I've been planning for the new fic after I finish this one, it'll be M rated for many reasons but I'll make sure to make it amazing. Also it'd really help if you guys went to the poll on my profile page, I can't decide an ending for it. Anyway, back to this story, next chapter will be about Kiku. Including that chapter, only 2-3 left so be ready for it. Well until the next update, review and thanks to the readers and reviewers. Bye for now.


	15. Chapter 15 A Legend's Flower

Ch. 15 A Legend's Flower

School seemed to last forever for Mei. She sat with her hand holding up her head as she watched the teacher go on and on about the history of Japan. Since Mei lived with Kiku, he made her learn nearly everything about Japan from a young age so whenever they had to learn something from Japan, she didn't have to pay attention. The only reason she was in her current state was because she didn't get a lot of sleep. Mei tried her best to keep her eyes open but she continued to nod off every few seconds. Just when she thought she was about to pass out, the bell rung and she sat up with a jolt as everyone else rushed out.

She rubbed her eyes and let out a long yawn. She groggily got up from her seat when a pair of arms wrapped around her. She was startled but the sudden touch but leaned into the hug. "Hey Mei."

"Xiang, you shouldn't sneak up on me like that. I'm tired."

Xiang leaned his head on hers. "Is that so? Well it's the end of the day now; you can go home and sleep."

"Yeah but… there's a problem with that."

"What's that?"

"It gets too loud at my house…" Mei let out another yawn as she snuggled into Xiang's chest.

"What do you mean? Kiku shouldn't be able to make that much noise."

"It isn't him. These two guys are always coming over to talk to Kiku-nii and they fight with each other. I can never get any peace and quiet."

Xiang began to gently comb through Mei's hair, comforting her a bit more. "Don't worry Mei; I'm sure it can't last for too long. Do you know what they fight about?"

"If I didn't then I'd be deaf. Kiku-nii seems to be oblivious to it but they're basically fighting over him."

"Hmm, I need to see this. Do you mind if I come over?"

"I don't mind at all but what about Arthur?"

"Don't worry about him, as long as we don't say anything. Besides, figuring out what's giving you so much discomfort is more important to me right now."

Mei smiled slightly and nodded. Xiang held her hand as they began to walk to Mei's home. Xiang could tell that all the arguing was affecting her health. She was less energetic and she seemed to be slacking as she walked. The two finally arrived at her house, the terrain only slightly different from what Xiang remembered on his last visit. Mei opened the door with her house keys and the two kicked off their shoes and started to head up the stairs. Mei placed her bag on the side of her desk and collapsed onto her bed, snuggling into the pillow. Xiang threw his bag near Mei's and took a seat in her chair.

"Mei?"

"Hmm?"

"So where's all the arguing?"

"I don't know, it's unusually quiet actually. By now we should've heard screaming or something."

"Well I think I hear something in your backyard."

"Really?" Mei rolled out of her bed and walked over to her window. And sure enough, she saw the trio outside. "Well you're right, they're outside."

"I wonder what they're talking about."

"Let's go and find out." Mei grabbed Xiang's arm and took him downstairs. The two snuck into the kitchen and looked out the backdoor, trying to catch anything that was said from the trio outside. Unfortunately, the small group seemed to be finished with whatever they were saying and began to walk back into the house. Mei and Xiang quickly scrambled to the living room and sat on the couch as they entered, surprised by the two's presence.

"Mei? I didn't realize that you came back from school. And with him no less."

"Nice to see you too Mr. Honda," replied Xiang.

"You don't have to be so rude Kiku-nii," answered Mei.

"I'm merely stating what I see. Anyone reason why he's here?"

"He's err, just here to keep me company. You have your guests as well don't you?" Xiang let out a soft chuckle at how quickly Mei saved the situation.

"I guess that's fair then. Continue with your business then." Kiku then turned to his two guests. One seemed laid back and sleepy, his brown hair in disarray with a small kitten resting on his shoulder. The other man wore a white mask and hooded jacket, hiding his entire face. He had a strong masculine appearance given by his slightly hairy chin. However both stood tall in comparison with Kiku. The two gave a polite gaze towards Kiku but when they sat down next to each other, a great amount of tension in the room appeared. Even though they weren't looking directly at each other, a hateful aura arose from the both of them.

"Are you going to introduce your friends?" asked Mei.

"Oh right." Kiku cleared his throat and directed them to his two companions. "The one on the left is Heracles Karpusi and the one next to him is Sadiq Adnan." The two nodded towards Mei and Xiang.

"Well nice to meet you two. Umm, Xiang and I have something to do so we'll see you later." She grabbed Xiang's hand and took him upstairs.

"Well it seems like Kiku still doesn't like me."

"Don't worry about it too much. He didn't kick you out right?"

"That's an interesting way to look at it. But you're right."

"Of course!" she beamed. "Anyway what do you think about those two?"

"Well I'm not sure what to make of it. We didn't really get to know or talk to them right?"

"I guess so but I'm talking about Kiku. I think the two like him~"

Xiang stared at her before the meaning of her words finally sunk into his mind. "Are you serious? How are you able to tell that?"

"It's a women's intuition. I just saw the look in their eyes when they were staring at Kiku. And I think Kiku might be fond of one of them too."

"So we're going to do our usual mischief again, aren't we?"

"Yep~ And maybe if Kiku warms up to someone, he'll warm up to the idea of us as a couple too. Although it might be a long shot considering how stubborn he can be."

"Hmm, I guess so. And I see where you pick up your stubbornness from then," Xiang jokingly answered.

"Hey!" Mei tackled Xiang and pinned him to her bed. "What's that suppose to mean?"

"It was just a joke you know. But you are stubborn."

"I am not," she pouted. "Anyway, let's start planning for this thing."

"So what? We interview them or something and see what they're like and pick the best one for Kiku?"

"That but we won't be the ones picking. We need to find out which one Kiku likes too, remember?"

" Right, so we'll start right away. You take on Kiku while I figure out which one of the two is better for him."

"Alright, sounds good. But first…" Mei leaned in and surprised Xiang with a kiss. He gladly returned it but it lasted shortly as she pulled back. "It's a thank you for walking me home."

"It was my pleasure. Can you let go of me now?"

"Oh right, sorry." Mei released her hold on Xiang in return for a hug. "Let's get to work then. I think it'll be best that we wait for one of them to leave first so we can get them individually."

"Ok, let's keep watch till that happens." The two got off of the bed and quietly stepped down the stairs and saw the trio silently enjoying a cup of tea.

The group seemed to be oblivious to the two on the staircase. Heracles looked at his watch and got up from his seat. "Sorry Kiku, I have to go right now… I'll be back to visit later." Kiku nodded towards him and Heracles exited the house. Mei pushed Xiang slightly to alert him. Xiang gave Mei a quick kiss on the cheek and ran out the door, following Heracles.

Xiang caught up to the Grecian quickly but he took no notice of the young man beside him. Both were silent as they continued to walk. They seemed to have a mutual understanding but Xiang wasn't going to be able to accomplish anything if he kept it up.

"So Mr. Karpusi…"

"… call me Heracles…"

"Heracles… How do you know Kiku?"

"We've been working together for some time now. It's only been recently that I've been visiting…"

"Is that so? Well what do you think of Kiku?"

"He's a very kind person…" As Heracles said that, a small smile appeared on his face.

"Hmm, seems to me you think a bit more about him than that."

"… I do. I don't want to impose anything on him though… I want him to like me for me and not just because I influenced it with any confession or the sorts."

"That's very honorable and honest of you. Well whatever happens, I wish you the best of luck."

"Thank you and I hope for the best." The two parted their as Xiang began his return to Mei's house and to wait for Sadiq to come out next.

Xiang didn't have to wait long as he was walking back, Sadiq emerged from the gates and walked in the opposite direction that Heracles was. Xiang quickened his pace and caught up to the Turkish man but he took an instant notice of Xiang's presence. Her turned around quickly but relaxed slightly to only find the Asian boy.

"Why are you following me?" he demanded.

"I just wanted to talk to you," he answered in his monotone voice. Xiang was much more comfortable talking to Heracles and didn't want to do anything unnecessary.

"Well get on with it! Don't beat around the bush."

"Right… so how do you know Kiku?"

"What's it to you? But to answer your question, I work with him and he helps me out a lot."

"I just wanted to know. And does he mean anything to you?"

"Hmm he seems like a cool guy. It'd be something if I was able to get him. Over that stupid Grecian."

"I see… well it was nice talking to you then."

"Well it's about time; I'm a busy person you know." Sadiq turned around and began to walk away. Xiang finished his work and it as time to check on how Mei was doing.

Mei waited for Sadiq to finally leave before she went downstairs to talk to Kiku. He was still quietly enjoying his tea as Mei sat in front of him. He only raised an eyebrow in wonder at why she came down to see him but waited patiently.

"So Kiku-sama… can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can."

"You know you're two friends?"

"Yes?" he asked, sipping more tea.

"Do you like one of them?" she asked bluntly.

Kiku's eyes grew wide as a blush appeared on his face. He began to choke a little on his tea but finally regained his breath. "W-why are you asking me such a thing?"

"Well it just seems like those two are fond of you and I think you feel the same way about one of them."

"I… I can't deny that but I think it's my right to keep these things private."

"Hmm alright, that's all I need to know. I have an idea of who you like anyway~" Mei quickly got up and went up to her room, leaving Kiku in a nervous and dazed state.

They had the day off the very next day so both Xiang and Mei was up unusually early to meet with each other and discussed. When Xiang arrived to the park to find her, she was quietly sleeping under a newly blossoming tree. He smiled at her innocence and sat next to her, giving her something to rest on while he waited for her to wake up. He didn't mind at all, he loved to see her when she was her most peaceful. He moved some of her misplaced hair but she opened her eyes in a drowsy state.

"Oh sorry Mei. Did I wake you?"

"Yeah you did but its fine," she hugged him and only leaned into him more. "I got some nice sleep before I got woken up."

"I'm glad. So anyway, shall we talk about the situation?"

"Mhmm~ So I figured out that I was right. Kiku does like one of them, except I don't know which one…"

"You did your job, that's good enough. Now we'll just get him alone with them, individually of course and see how he reacts to them. I suggest we pair him up with Heracles first because frankly… Sadiq seems like a complete jerk."

"That works. We'll start first thing in the morning?"

"Sounds good. We have the weekend to our advantage that way. Anyway it's a bit late, I should go home."

"Oh… okay. Bye then."

"Don't be too sad, I'll be here first thing in the morning." Xiang leaned in and gave her a gentle farewell kiss.

Mei smiled and gave him a quick hug. "Come back soon"

"I will." Xiang closed the door quietly and returned to home, thinking of a plan for tomorrow yet a strange feeling inside of him bothered him.

* * *

"Okay so the plan is set! Ready to do this?"

Xiang nodded. "I hope this all works out."

"It will, if everything goes according to plan. Now let's hurry, I hear they're both going to visit again. You need to go "distract" Sadiq while I push Kiku and Heracles along."

"Don't worry; something like this will be a snap. I'll head out now."

"Okay, remember; keep him occupied for the entire day until I give you the signal."

"I got it. See you soon dear." Mei waved to Xiang as he departed, allowing her to focus on Kiku and Heracles.

* * *

Xiang ran toward Sadiq's house, gaining the location after Mei looked it up the night before. Sadiq actually lived quite far from Kiku's home. Xiang and been running for almost half an hour before he reached the house and saw that Sadiq had a car he could've used. As he exited the house, Xiang leaped into a nearby bush so he wouldn't notice him. He only stuck his head out enough to see what Sadiq was doing. The man was whistling to himself as he got into his car and sped off.

Xiang leaped out of the bush and ran as fast as he could to follow him, knowing that if he lost his trail, Mei would definitely scold him. Xiang followed for about half an hour before Sadiq finally stopped in the center of town and on top of hill. Xiang then hid behind a building as he got out of the car, wondering what the man was up to. Sadiq stood in front of an alley way, looking around to see if anyone was around. He didn't see anyone. Now that he thought it was safe, he stepped into the alley way, but Xiang followed shortly. Xiang hid behind a dumpster, sticking his head out only slightly enough to see what he was doing. He was speaking to someone at the end of the alleyway just when they exchanged something. Just as Xiang tried to get a better look, an ambulance rushed passed them, with its sirens at full blast. Sadiq turned around to see the ambulance but at the same time saw Xiang as well. The other man panicked and ran away from the other end as Sadiq ran over to Xiang. The Cantonese boy tried to escape but a pair of hands pulled him back and smashed him into the side wall.

"What are you doing here? Who are you?" he demanded. Xiang remained silent even as Sadiq stared at him with great ferocity. "If you won't talk, I'll make you." Sadiq raised his fist to strike him but Xiang slipped out of his jacket and under Sadiq. The fist only made contact with the brick wall as he cursed in pain. Xiang slammed his foot into Sadiq's back, ramming him into the wall and disorientating him. Xiang moved forward and snatched his jacket from Sadiq. The man turned around to meet Xiang but right at that instant, he threw a ball into the ground, releasing a smoke screen. As Sadiq searched for Xiang, the boy had already escaped into the streets but still remained close enough to continue spying on Sadiq.

The smoke screen cleared soon enough but Sadiq was furious that Xiang was able to escape from him. He stepped out, onto the streets and looked up and down but he was nowhere to be found. He began to walk toward his car when Xiang tossed a bag of marbles under his feet. The bag tore and released the spheres. The Turk loss his balance instantly and began to tumble down the hill. Xiang chuckled to himself and whipped out his cell phone as he looked onto a towing sign.

Sadiq got scratched up during his downside trip. He swore to himself that he would get payback. Just when he finally reached the top of the hill, he saw a tow truck taking his car away. He screamed at the truck to stop but it had already driven out of his reach. Sadiq slammed his foot and cursed to the sky. When he turned around he saw Xiang chuckling to himself as he leaned onto a wall.

"You're really asking for it kid," he threatened. Xiang lifted his head and held a smirk to his lips. Sadiq began to walk toward Xiang, holding a menacing glare at him. "As soon as I finish with you, I can go and continue with my business."

"And what would that be?" Xiang inquired.

"Like it matters to you. But after I'm done with you, you'll be lucky to remember your own name."

"Then why not tell me?" he asked innocently.

"Fine kid. I'm going to become one of the richest men in the city after I get together with Honda Kiku." Xiang grew incredibly curious but didn't change his expression. "That man is much too innocent to realize what I'm up to but it's a great advantage for me. After I'm done with him, he'll be left with nothing." Xiang's facial expression remained unchanged but inside his mind; thoughts were running about how devilish the Turk was. "Oh and that girl living with him seems like she would be a very good servant."

Before Sadiq realized what just happened, he was lying on the floor, his chest hurting. He looked up and saw Xiang standing in front of him, his hands tightened into a fist. Sadiq was absolutely stunned at the scene before him but got up, clutching his chest. "I won't let you do anything to her," Xiang growled.

Sadiq grinned. "So the kid knows how to fight. Well bring it." He raised his fists, ready to fight Xiang. Both pushed off of the ground and ran at each other as raw fists struck the other. Sadiq spat out some blood as he stepped back.

Xiang caressed his stomach as he glared at Sadiq. "I'll keep you here for as long as I can…"

* * *

Mei waited impatiently for Heracles to arrive to their house. When he finally arrived, she told Kiku and quickly left to give them some privacy. Kiku got up from his seat and went over to the door, opening it to find a usual drowsy looking Heracles along with a cat that seemed to have followed him.

"Konnichiwa Heracles-san."

Heracles smiled and nodded. "Good afternoon Kiku. How are you?"

"I'm fine thank you. I suppose you came for usual business today?"

"To tell you the truth, no. I came just because I wanted to."

"Is that so? Well please make yourself comfortable. Is there any snack you would like?"

"How about you decide? You're cooking is always amazing…" Kiku blushed slightly at the compliment and went into the kitchen, followed shortly by Heracles. "Is there any way I can help you?"

"Umm, you could reach for the higher up utensils." Heracles nodded and reached for the bowls and ingredients that Kiku pointed out. At the same time, Kiku thought what snack he could make that would interest or match Heracles the best. After a moment, he decided and prepared to make pastries for the two to eat.

Heracles peered over Kiku's head to see what he was doing. "So what are you going to make?"

"It's called Taiyaki. It's a fish shaped pastry that has different fillings. Any in particular you would like? We could go with traditional bean paste, chocolate or custard."

"Tai-ya-ki? I would like to go with the traditional one. I want to experience all that your culture has to offer."

"Alright then." Kiku quickly whipped up the batter for the pastry while at the same time, was preparing the bean paste for the taiyaki. As soon as the paste was ready, Kiku took out the special pan for the taiyaki which gave it, its unique fish shape. He filled the molds with the batter and waited a few seconds before filling the center with the paste. He closed the cooker and waited for the pastry to cook through. After a few minutes, the first two were finished and found a plate to rest on. "Try it. It's a little hot though."

Heracles picked up the little fish shaped pastry and took a bite from its tail and smiled. "It's delicious."

"I'm glad." Heracles lifted himself and sat down on the counter, continuing to eat his pastry. Kiku took one of his own pastries and took up a seat along Heracles, slowly eating his snack.

Heracles chuckled. "I didn't know you could be this laid back."

Kiku blushed. "I just feel more comfortable around you…" The two remained sitting until they ran out of their snacks. As soon as they finished, they returned to the living room, finding the kitty that followed the Grecian had fallen asleep.

"What would you like to do now?" asked Kiku.

"A nap sounds good right now," answered Heracles. "But if you don't want to, we could do something else."

"A nap does sound good. I'll go find some mats and blankets." Kiku quickly went off into another room and returned soon with the mats and blankets. He laid them down accordingly. Both of the men got onto their respective mats but the mats were pushed together closely.

Just as Kiku began to drift off into slumber, a pair of arms wrapped around him. "Rest easy Kiku…" The Japanese man blushed madly but didn't resist the hold. Rather, he indulged into his arms and closed his eyes.

Kiku let out a soft yawn as he looked around. The room was dark as the moon light shinned and dimly lit the room. Kiku rolled out of bed and moved to go make something to eat. Heracles stirred in his sleep, feeling the empty warmth that was next to him. But regardless, he got onto his side as he waited patiently for Kiku to return. When he came back, he held two bowls in one hand and a plate of salmon in the other. He placed the food onto the coffee table and got out his chopsticks to eat.

"Oh you're awake. I made us dinner since it was late."

"That's very kind of you." Heracles emerged from his mat and went over to eat along with Kiku. The two ate in silence but enjoyed the other's company just the same. At the same time, Mei watched quietly over the two, realizing how little she actually had to do.

"Hey Kiku, do you still want to do something?"

"Like what?"

"I was thinking we could go down to the beach."

Kiku thought about it and finally smiled. "That sounds nice."

"Alright then, let's go." Heracles got up from his seat and grabbed his coat. He held the door open for Kiku and they walked out together and toward the beach. The two arrived at the sandy shores and watched as the slow rushing of the waves crashed onto the beach.

"I've always loved the sea… when you close your eyes and just take in the scent that it has to offer, you can see more of the sea than you realize." Kiku looked out to the waters and closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He could smell the salt-water but he felt at peace with it as well.

"You know… Heracles… now that we're out here, alone with the entire ocean open to us, I see something I should have seen earlier." A light blush appeared on Kiku's face as he stared.

"What would that be?" he asked curiously.

"I realize how kind of a person you are, how gentle you can be, and how honest you can be." Kiku began to turn red but continued, "And how I feel about you… more than a friend."

"What do you mean?" asked Heracles. Although he knew what to expect, he restrained a grin appearing.

"I mean… that I really like you Heracles. I know I may seem reserved but… that doesn't keep me from feeling what I do."

Heracles pulled Kiku into a tight embrace which Kiku relaxed into, feeling the beating of each other's heart as it began to speed up from the contact. "It's okay Kiku. I just wanted to hear you say that because I feel the same way."

The two lifted their heads and stared into the others eyes before Kiku wrapped his arms around his neck and gently pressed his lips to his. It only lasted for a few seconds but Heracles got the message as he smiled. The two intertwined their hands and sat on the beach, staring out at the moon, as they leaned onto each other.

* * *

Mei sat on the couch, giggling to herself at how well Kiku's romance was going. She was sure that something would happen once they got out to the beach because beach scenes always held romantic themes. A knock at the door broke her of her trance and she went over to answer it. When she opened it, she gasped as she saw Xiang covered in dirt and fatigued.

"Xiang! What happened?" Mei reached out and helped Xiang inside, laying him on the couch as she sat next to him. "Tell me what happened."

"It's nothing. Just got into a fight with that Turk."

"Did he hurt you? I mean look at you."

Xiang chuckled, "Don't worry; he didn't hurt me that much. He just got in a punch or two when I lost my cool. But the reason why I'm so dirty is because someone told me to keep spying on him and keep him away from the house which meant hiding in bushes, under cars and using a smoke screen."

Mei rubbed the back of her head, "sorry. But you did a good job and Kiku and Heracles are together."

"That's good. And it's not a problem Mei. Hey can I use your shower? I'm pretty sure I smell after all that."

"You don't smell that bad, but yeah you can. Just leave your jacket and I'll wash it for you."

"Okay thanks." Xiang got up from the couch and went upstairs. As Mei went up the stairs, the sound of the shower became apparent to her. In the hallway she saw his jacket neatly folded up despite being covered in dirt. She took the jacket and tossed it into the washer and waited quietly in her room for Xiang.

The sound of the shower disappeared and within a few minutes a knock came at her door. Xiang entered his hair still slightly damp but what made Mei blush was the fact that he didn't have a shirt on. "Hey I'm back. You okay?" he inquired.

"Huh? Y-yeah. I'm fine. You're jacket is in the wash right now."

"Thanks again." Xiang went over and sat down next to Mei, still drying his hair with the towel he brought back.

Mei leaned her head on his shoulder, not minding the fact that he was shirtless. But something caught her attention, a certain smell. Mei sniffed the air around her before realizing it was Xiang. She pressed herself up to him, trying to figure out what the smell was. Xiang stared at her like something was wrong.

"What are you doing Mei?"

"That smell… what soap did you use?"

"Huh? I didn't use any. I think it's just my natural smell. Oh, sorry, I probably smell bad."

"Not at all. Actually you shouldn't use anything at all more. It's intoxicating." Xiang blushed at the strange compliment but before he could respond, Mei tackled him and he stared at her as she had him pinned down. "You know, if you smell this good. I wonder how you taste." Xiang turned wide eyed at what Mei just said. She wrapped her arms around the Cantonese boy and pressed her lips to his. Despite the strange position, Xiang returned the kiss before she broke it. "Don't worry Xiang, I just want to do something different." She went around his head and gently blew on his neck. "Just relax now…"

* * *

Arthur sat in his reading chair, holding his newspaper up when the sound of the door opening and closing caught his attention. Soon enough Xiang appeared, but it he didn't have his usual stoic expression. Rather he had a dreamy and dazed expression all over.

"Welcome home Xiang," greeted Arthur.

"Hi Arthur…"

"So I assume you were with Mei?" Xiang nodded slightly. "Well maybe you should try snogging each other less." Xiang began to turn red at his comment. "You're probably wondering why I know that. And the answer is you have a little love bite on your neck." Xiang quickly clasped his neck, already full blown scarlet as he ran upstairs.

Arthur chuckled to himself. "Crazy teens…"

* * *

Kiku returned home, incredibly cheery. He quietly walked upstairs to check on Mei when he found her lying down on her bed and reading some manga. "Oh hello Kiku."

"Mei? Have you been here all day?"

"Pretty much but I keep myself… entertained."

"I see, well I hope you can forgive me for umm… being preoccupied."

"It's not a problem." Mei giggled, "Besides, I had something to "preoccupy" myself as well."

* * *

Hello everyone, yes I finally updated this thing. Sorry for such a long wait but school and stuff got in my way. Well anyway I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I apologize if it seems rough, I wrote this without any serious editing done to it. Please review to let me know your thoughts. Also the next chapter will be the final chapter, just letting you know. And after this, I will release the other fic I've been working on: Under the Light. Bye for now and I'll try and update sooner. Remember reviews and messages motivate me.


	16. Chapter 16 Beyond Imagination

Final Chapter, hope you guys enjoy~

* * *

Ch. 16 Beyond Imagination

The sun had set for the night and the sky grew dark, illuminated only by the bright white moon. At Mei's house, the two residences were dinning, with the addition of their guest who now visiting regularly. Mei ate quietly, trying to form her resolve. After all the plans she and Xiang went through, she wanted their guardians to accept their relationship despite their... Differences. And now that both of their guardians had someone special, it might make things easier or more reasonable.

Mei took a deep breath and placed her chop sticks down, catching Kiku's attention, as well as Heracles. "Kiku... We need to talk..."

"About what?"

"Well you know I've been dating Xiang..."

Kiku's mood suddenly turned sour but tried to stay focused. "Continue"

"Well what are your feelings about him or 'us'?"

"Personally, I don't have anything against him but because he's related to "him" I have to say that I don't like it at all."

"But that's not fair to him at all!" she argued. "He hasn't done anything. He's even helped you in more ways than you can think of."

Kiku raised in eyebrow, "Oh really? Tell me some of these things then."

"Well... He played a part in getting you together with Heracles." This caught the Grecian's attention as well as Kiku's interest.

"That sounds absurd. We got together only two weeks ago and we did it ourselves."

"Okay that may be true... But you don't know what he did. He keep Sadiq distracted so you two could actually do something." Heracles' eyes, for a split second held rage from the mention of his name. "Xiang fought him and stalled him for that entire day and you have no idea what Sadiq wanted to do to you, to our family."

"I was aware that he wasn't such a good person but what are you talking about?"

"He wanted to fool you and then steal your company and put us into the worst kind of situations. And Xiang couldn't stand the mention of that, so he fought for us. Doesn't that mean anything?"

Kiku seemed thrown back from this information but he still stood just as stubborn. "Xiang sounds like a good person but I can't stand his association with that Brit. Why are you even bringing this up? I'm letting you two date. Why do you need my approval of him?"

"Because you're my family Kiku..."

"Well maybe it's too soon for you to understand relationships anyway..."

"What's that suppose to mean!" she shouted. "When did you suddenly become an expert. You've been dating Heracles for two weeks and suddenly you're an expert?"

"You're just too young to understand these things Mei."

"No I'm not! I'm not too young to know who's important to me. And I'm not too young to know who I love!"

Both the adults stared at her sudden outburst. As Mei calmed down from the silence, the meaning of her words hit her and her face began to flush deeply. She loved Xiang.

Mei pushed her chair out and stood up. "I have to tell him…" She turned around and went toward the door.

"Mei! What are you doing? Get back here now! It's dangerous out there. You can do it tomorrow or even over the phone," protested Kiku.

Mei stopped just as her hand came within the reach of the door knob. "I can't do that… You wouldn't understand. This isn't something that can be said later or through the phone if it can be helped. I'm going to him now and nothing you say is going to stop me…" Mei ran out of the door, slamming the door behind her.

Kiku stood up to go after her until a gentle hand rested on his shoulder. Kiku turned around and saw Heracles. "It's okay Kiku. It really is something she has to do. But I understand that it is dangerous out there so we should only watch, but don't stop her from doing what she feels she has to do." Kiku relaxed and nodded to him. The two stood up and quickly went out the door to follow the Taiwanese girl.

Mei ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Her lungs were screaming but she couldn't hear them. Her desire to see Xiang was so much stronger than any wish she had before to see him. As she reached the corner of the block, the distinct smell of cigarettes came to her senses. She came to an abrupt stop as a group of people emerged from the corner and looked directly at her.

One in particular was wearing a bone white mask and he was the first to step forward. "Well, well, what do we have here? Aren't you that brat that's living with Kiku?"

"Sadiq…" she growled. Mei ignored him and went to the other side of the sidewalk to continue her run but again, she was met with Sadiq.

"How rude. You're not going anywhere. I'm pretty sure I could use you for my plans." Sadiq reached out to grab Mei put was appropriately slapped aside.

"Don't touch me!" she yelled. "I know what you were going to try with Kiku and what Xiang went through with you."

"You mean that brat from a few weeks. I still need to pay him back for what he did to me. Hmm, you might prove useful in that payback." Sadiq snapped his fingers and the group that was following him appeared. "Take her, but don't hurt her too badly. We need her alive."

The gang approached Mei but she quickly punched the first on comer in the stomach and flipped him into the others. "I'm not the weak girl you think I am," she stated. Mei quickly took a fighting stance, readying to defend herself.

"Get her!" ordered Sadiq. The rest of the gang charged Mei as commanded. The girl quickly adapted and stepped back to gain some ground and began to beat down the individuals that came to her. Even though she kicked others in the head, some in the gut and the rest in their vital regions, the gang continued their onslaught. Mei had the upper hand in the beginning but she began to tire and eventually she was cornered against the wall. Mei cursed under her breath as two of the henchmen grabbed both of her arms. Sadiq smirked, "That was quite some trouble you gave us. But a little girl like you can't handle a gang." Mei scowled and lifted her leg to hit Sadiq right between his legs, making him collapse to the ground in pain. "You damn girl," he cursed. "Take her to our base!" he demanded. Mei tried to struggle but her efforts were useless as she got shoved into a car.

Kiku and Heracles just then arrived onto the scene to see them taking Mei away. Kiku shouted out to her but Heracles stopped him. "Don't Kiku… that was Sadiq's car… he's dangerous. We need help."

* * *

Xiang rested on his bed quietly staring at the ceiling. Something had been bothering lately and he was trying to figure out what it was. But he came to something; he only felt that strange feeling whenever he was with Mei. He couldn't describe it and he tried to figure out what.

The sound of the phone suddenly broke him of his deep thoughts and he went up to answer. But when he reached out to the phone, the ringing stopped. Puzzled, he ran downstairs and saw that Arthur had picked it up. But it didn't look like someone he wanted to talk to. And at the same time, his face suddenly changed to a serious one.

"Are you serious?" Arthur paused to listen. "I see, I'll tell him then." Arthur hung the phone and was surprised to see Xiang when he turned around. "Xiang… sit down."

Xiang became slightly worried but obeyed. "What happened?"

Arthur sat down and held a sympathetic face. "Xiang please remain calm when I tell you this."

"Tell me what?" Xiang became more worried as Arthur held what he heard.

"Okay. I just got a call from Kiku… Honda Kiku and… Mei's been kidnapped."

Xiang stared at the British man. "A-are you kidding? Please tell me this is a joke," he pleaded. Arthur shook his head and Xiang's face fell to the floor. 'This can't be happening. She has to be alright, right.' he thought. But he knew he shouldn't turn away reality. Mei was kidnapped and she was out of our reach but…

Xiang stood up and headed for the door. "Xiang! Where do you think you're going?" shouted Arthur.

"I'm going to look for her."

"What? Are you out of your mind! It's dangerous out there. You could end up just like her."

"I don't care. She's in danger right now."

"Xiang, stop. Just let the police handle it."

"The police are too slow. By the time they find her, something might have happened to her already."

"Why are you so stubborn! She's just a girl!"

Xiang tightened his fists then and turned to face him and broke his stoic face, "She is not just a girl! She's Mei! Sure she may be a bit clumsy at times, but she's always been there for me. She has an infectious smile and a voice that can sooth even the most distressed person and she just isn't just a girl, she's so much more." As his memories of Mei flooded his mind, he finally realized that feeling. "And…a-and I love her."

Arthur seemed to be shocked by Xiang's sudden change in emotion and outcry. His face softened. "Fine. You can go but I'm calling the others. It's still not safe to be out there alone."

Xiang's face relaxed. "Thank you."

* * *

Xiang tried to remain patient as he waited for Alfred to arrive but he couldn't help his growing nervousness. At least, Alfred burst through the door along with Gilbert and Matthew. Alfred and Gilbert carried their usual cheery attitude while Matthew seemed to be the only worried one out of the new guests.

"We came over as quickly as we could," exclaimed Matthew.

"It's good to see you guys," greeted Arthur.

Matthew ran pass Arthur and went over to Xiang, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Xiang, are you okay?"

Xiang lifted his head and forced a small smile. "As well as I can be."

"It'll be okay Xiang. We'll find her."

Alfred walked over to Arthur and placed an arm around him. "So do you know anything?"

"All I know is what Kiku told me. He said that someone named Sadiq kidnapped her."

The sudden mention of the name caught Gil's attention and he went up to Arthur. "Did you say Sadiq? We don't have any hard evidence against him but there have been rumors going around that he does a lot of illegal things. This might be the first clear case that we got."

"Okay so we're not given nothing. Can you dig up any additional information about him?" asked Arthur.

"Of course. The awesome me can do anything." Gil promptly took out his phone and called headquarters, requesting for the information. After a few minutes he closed his phone. "Okay, they're going to fax us what they have on him. But from what they could tell me in that short time, they said that he works with a lot of dangerous people."

"This isn't going to be just a simple rescue mission then."

"Haha! Don't sound so glum Arthur," exclaimed Alfred. "I'm sure we can take them."

Arthur looked unconvinced and moved to their phone. "I'll make a few more calls to friends."

Everyone was scrambling around the room, doing all they could to learn more about the situation and come up with a plan. Xiang still stared at the ground, feeling so useless. He then looked over to Arthur's office and noticed the faxes coming out. He got up, unnoticed by the others and went over to check the machine. The first thing that caught his eye were possible locations of his hideouts. Xiang took the list and made his own copy and stared at it. He thought about what would be the most logical location for a crime gang and the abandoned outskirts of the city would be perfect. Isolated, close to the ocean to make trades to the sea, and more notably, no police station was within twenty miles of the building. Xiang took out a red marker and circled the location and left the sheet on Arthur's desk.

Xiang snuck upstairs to his room, even though Arthur said they would do something together, Xiang couldn't stand to wait around and do nothing while Mei is in danger. He grabbed his jacket and took out a case. He took a quick look downstairs and saw that everyone was still discussing and hadn't noticed his disappearance at all. Xiang carefully climbed out of his window and slide down to the bottom of the house and began to head to the hideout.

* * *

Darkness… that's all Mei could see as she began to come to. When she tried to move, she noticed that her hands were tied behind her back as well as her legs. Mei struggled against the rope but could feel that it was incredibly tight. From the little light that came from a window, she could see she was in some sort of closet or small room but she couldn't see the exit anywhere and the window was far too high up for her to reach.

Mei remained in her position, trying her best to think of an escape but the situation didn't give her any hope. As she laid her head to the cold floor, she could hear murmurs beyond the wall. Seeing as she couldn't do anything else, she crawled toward the sound. After much effort she made it to an end of the room and pressed her ear to the wall to try and listen better.

"…you got it?"

"Yeah, the ransom note is complete."

"Good," that voice Mei recognized as Sadiq's. "With this we're going to suck his fortune dry." Sadiq began to laugh loudly and after a moment finally calmed down. "I'm actually glad that things turned out this way. The first plan had to have me act all nice to that sorry excuse of a man. This is much more my style."

Just the sound of his voice enraged Mei but her fury was restrained by the ropes. As she struggled, she could hear the sound of footsteps growing louder and louder. Mei crawled back to the center of the room and closed her eyes, playing dead. A door opened and light poured into the room. "Hmm, she's still knocked out." The door closed back and Mei opened her eyes.

She began to lose her will to escape from such her situation when the sound of footsteps returned only they weren't coming from the doorway. Rather, from on top of her. She could hear the steps going across the roof top but they were so very silent that she was surprised she could even hear them. 'What's going on?' she thought.

Slowly, the sound of a flute built until it could be heard throughout the entire complex. The people outside were puzzled at the suddenness and tried to find the source of the sound. To Mei, the music was a bright glimmer of safety and hope. It was so familiar to her that she couldn't deny the source of the song or rather, the player.

The song came to a sudden stop and the footsteps returned but there was so much movement going on with the gang that she couldn't really tell where they were. She tried to concentrate but the steps had disappeared entirely. Instead it was replaced with the sound of a window opening and she turned her head and saw a shadowy figure entering through the window. The figure slide down the wall and landed on a box of miscellaneous items. Mei chuckled which gave her presence to the figure which approached her cautiously.

"Mei?"

"Xiang," she exclaimed quietly. "I knew it was you."

"Yeah it's me. Hold on a second, I'm getting you out of here." Xiang hoisted Mei in an upright sitting position and began to undo the ropes that bounded her.

"How did you find me?" she asked.

"I narrowed down the possible locations of Sadiq's hideout to this one. And it was just luck that I happened to sneak into the same room you were being held in."

Xiang finished untying Mei and she rubbed her sore wrists. "Thanks for saving me."

"As soon as I heard, I couldn't stop thinking about how to save you or help you."

"It's still amazing of you. Oh Xiang… when we get out of this, there's something I need to tell you."

"That's fine. I have something to tell you too."

"Promise?"

"Promise," he swore. The two shared a brief hug as he lifted her to her feet. "Okay, there's no way we can go through the way I came up."

"We'll have to take the door here then, but I'm pretty sure there are guards everywhere."

"We'll have to try sneaking out; it's our best hope before they come back here."

Mei nodded and the two went over to the door. Xiang carefully opened the door, making sure not to allow the door to creek. Both stuck their heads out of the door and saw almost everyone was still trying to find the source of the music that was playing earlier. And to their luck, there weren't any guards. The two snuck out of the room and began to find an exit when a sudden wind came from an open window. The wind blew right past the two and the door behind them shut and it got someone's attention.

"Hey! What are you two doing!" yelled a man.

"Damn," cursed Xiang. He quickly grabbed Mei's hand and began to run.

"They're escaping!" shouted another man. The entire facility turned their attention to the two and began to chase after them.

"Xiang, they're going to surround us."

"I know, we'll have to fight our way out of here."

"Against all of them?"

"It looks that way," Xiang made an abrupt stop as he looked around and saw that they had already circled the two.

The two leaned against each other, back to back as they stared onto the growing mob of henchmen. "Well, if we're together, we should stand a pretty good chance," stated Mei.

"Little over confident aren't we?" teased Xiang.

"Just telling you the truth. I have your back."

"Same here." The two took a fighting stance and waited for the henchmen to move.

The guards rushed the two and both ran in their respective directions to fight. But to the guards surprise, the two slide right under them and reappeared from behind. Xiang grabbed one of them and slammed him into another, knocking a group of them over. He continued his assault, smashing his fist into their faces and keeping his distance from being ganged up. Mei gracefully leaped over their heads, making sure to keep her momentum while at the same time, ramming her foot straight into the guards' faces and using them as stepping stones. Guards continued to fall one by one but more seemed to take their place of their fallen comrade.

Only after a few minutes of the two's assault, the guards were learning their movements, finding it easier to defend themselves. Xiang and Mei reunited and looked at the continually growing mob. "There's too many of them," they said in unison.

The mob surrounded the two and began to enclose them when a sudden slow and steady clap of hands stopped them. Some of the men turned around and moved aside to reveal Sadiq making the sound. "I have to give you two credit for surviving for so long but these games have to end now. When I'm done with you two, you'll wish you could go back into that small room." Sadiq snapped his fingers and the mob closed in on Xiang and Mei.

Without warning, two men were thrown through the entrance door and everyone turned to the scene. A large light lit the entrance but two figures slowly came into view as they walked and Xiang grew wide eyed. "Did someone call for a Hero!"

"Ore-sama is here so you can stop worrying!" Alfred and Gilbert.

Sadiq scowled, "What are you two doing here!"

"You're under arrest Sadiq," shouted the both of them.

"So you're the police, but it doesn't look like there are more of you. Get them!" he ordered.

The mob turned their attention to Alfred and Gilbert but the two were completely unfazed by the command. "You don't think we'd come alone did you?" stated Gil.

"I guess that's our cue." More figures began to appear from behind Alfred and Gilbert and some of the faces completely surprised Xiang and Mei. There standing together was Yao, Ivan, Berwald, Tino, Romano, Antonio, Feliciano, Ludwig, Matthew, Arthur, Kiku, Heracles and Francis.

"There aren't many of them you fools! Hurry and get them," ordered Sadiq. The men obeyed and charged the group.

"This looks like fun," stated a cheery Ivan.

"Aiyah, I'm getting too old for this ~aru"

"There sure are a lot of people huh Berwald?" The man just nodded his answer.

"Don't worry my little tomato~ I'll protect you."

"Ah, shut tomato bastard! I'll be hiding."

"Ah brother, let me hide with you too~"

"Feliciano! Get back here! Ah never mind, I'll take care of this."

"I might not be as loud as Alfred but I'll fight."

"Ah, these men are all so rigid and un-beautiful."

"I guess I'll have to restrain from being a gentleman in this."

"Please don't dishonor yourselves anymore."

"I'm going to give that Turk something…"

Fighting exploded with everyone in an instant. Ivan was easily smacking the men down, laughing with joy. Yao ran around swinging a wok into the men's heads. Tino hide behind Berwald as he fought against the men and intimidating others. Antonio seemed to be playing with the men as he knocked each of them down one by one. Ludwig held a kick boxer fighting style, keeping his pace as he fought. Romano and Feliciano ran around, avoiding the fighting. Not many people seemed to notice Matthew as he came up and struck them. Francis spun around in a playful manner but he was able to hit a few men. Kiku held a wooden sword and struck the men, being careful not to do any fatal damage. Arthur fought his way past a few of the men and reached Xiang and Mei.

"Are you two alright?" he asked.

"We're fine Arthur. You saw my message right?"

"Yeah, how do you think we found this place? Honestly Xiang, don't be so reckless."

"Sorry, but I had to."

"Well its fine now; let's get out of here together. But first we need to take down these guys."

Xiang nodded and Mei smiled. "Let's do this Xiang." The two ran into the fray and began to fight as well. As Mei was knocking some men down, she noticed the others and went over to them. "I can't believe you guys came to help."

"We had to return the favor somehow," answered Tino.

"And as soon as we heard after Arthur called everyone, we couldn't wait to help," exclaimed Antonio.

Mei looked at them, her eyes almost to the brink of tears. "Thanks you guys." She wiped her eyes and focused back on fighting.

Heracles easily blew through a row of men, finally meeting face to face with Sadiq. "I always knew you weren't any good."

Sadiq smirked. "Well you were sleeping half the time, who would have known."

"I'll make you pay." Heracles sprinted towards Sadiq and punched him strike on in the face. Sadiq staggered back and noticed that he had cracked his mask. The Turk became engorged in rage and ran toward Heracles, returning his own fist. The two returned punches one after another until both were pushed to the brink of collapsing.

"Damn you," Sadiq reached into his pocket and pulled out a gun. "This is one fight, that won't turn into a draw." Just as Sadiq began to pull the trigger, something struck him from behind, knocking him to the floor. He shook his head and looked up to see Kiku and his wooden sword.

"Don't you dare." Kiku's usual polite nature was replaced with a fierce one.

Sadiq growled and lifted his gun and shot but Kiku easily dodged the bullets and came closer to Sadiq at the same time. The Turk cursed under his breath. "If I can't get you, I'll get something important to you." Sadiq looked around the room and saw the two teens and aimed his gun toward Mei. Kiku's eyes became wide and he ran as fast as he could but Sadiq pulled the trigger.

Xiang hearing the gun turned and saw what Sadiq had just done. On pure instinct, his body moved and pushed Mei out of the way. Mei fell to the ground and as she tried to figure out what had just happened, she saw Xiang lying on the ground with his arm stretched out. But to her horror, a pool of blood began to form.

Kiku cursed and slammed his sword onto Sadiq's hand and repeatedly kicked him in the face until Heracles held him back. "That's enough Kiku… he's knocked out now." Kiku breathed heavily and turned his attention to where the two were.

Mei stared speechless but her body crawled over to him until she was right above him. Tears streamed from her eyes as she turned Xiang over to see his face. "X-Xiang…"

Xiang coughed and opened his eyes. "A-are you alright?"

"W-why did you do that!"

"It looks like you are… I'm glad."

"Xiang… y-your…"

"I'll be alright Mei… I just need to rest for… a bit."

"N-no Xiang! Stay awake!" Xiang smiled slightly and placed a hand on her cheek.

"D-don't worry. Just call an ambulance and hurry please." Mei did as he said and dialed 911. Mei spoke more but Xiang's vision began to fade and the sound of her voice ever more distant until he blacked out.

* * *

Xiang slowly opened his eyes as he regained consciousness. He looked up and saw the ceiling and he could hear the sounds of medical machines. But the most distinct thing he could hear was the soft breathing of someone. Xiang turned his head and saw Mei sleeping at his bedside. Xiang smiled and nudged her slightly which immediately woke her up.

"Xiang! You're awake." She quickly wrapped her arms around him. "I was so worried."

"I told you I'd be fine. What happened after I blacked out?"

"Well shortly after that, reinforcements from the police arrived and Sadiq and his henchmen were arrested. And the ambulance came too and we rushed you to the hospital. Thank goodness you were only shot in the shoulder."

"That's good." Xiang relaxed into his pillow when he remembered something. "Hey Mei, what was that thing you wanted to tell me? You know when we promised each other earlier."

Mei suddenly turned red and began to fettle with her hands. "Oh well, I… I wanted to tell you… tell you that…" Mei closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "… I love you Xiang."

Xiang smiled and pulled Mei into a tender kiss which she gladly returned. "I love you too Mei."

"You don't know how happy I am to hear that, to feel this."

"So am I Mei, so am I…" Mei helped herself onto Xiang's bed and lay right next to him. "I think I should rest now."

"Yeah I think so too. I'll be right here love." Xiang nodded and Mei gave him a swift kiss. "Sleep well."

* * *

Xiang was discharged from the hospital after a week and still had to rest at his house but Mei didn't want to leave his side at all so she stayed over at Arthur's house, along with Kiku and Heracles. Everyone got along much better than ever before after the incident a week before.

Xiang stirred slightly in his bed and opened his eyes immediately when he realized a certain someone was right next to him. "Morning Xiang~"

"Morning Mei. Wait, why are you still in your pajamas?"

"Because I slept here silly" she answered.

Xiang stared at her, "And Kiku let you?"

"Ehh he doesn't know."

"That's what I thought. But…" Xiang pulled Mei into a tight hug. "I'm not complaining." Xiang kissed her and she returned it, deepening it ever so slightly.

When they broke the kiss, Mei had a slight blush on her face. "Err, we should change your bandages now."

Xiang nodded and got out of bed, taking his shirt off as well. Mei went over to his table and took out the med kit and went over to Xiang when she stumbled. Xiang quickly reacted to catch her but still fell along with her, only softening the impact. Just then Xiang's bed room door opened and Kiku was staring at the both of them.

When Mei looked at the position they were in; Xiang was shirtless and she was on top of him. "Wait Kiku, this…" Kiku quickly closed the door. "…isn't what it looks like…" Xiang laughed. "Xiang! This isn't funny… okay maybe it is a little funny."

"Yeah it is. Can you get off of me now?"

"Oh right, sorry." Mei stood up and helped Xiang to his feet and proceeded with changing his bandages. "Okay all done; now you stay here while I go make you something to eat."

"You really don't have to."

"No arguments. I am. See you in a bit." With that Mei went downstairs and began throwing a breakfast together for her boyfriend. After she finished she went upstairs to find Xiang, only to see him gone. Puzzled she looked around the house for him, finally finding him outside in his part of the backyard. She quietly stepped out and went over to him, sitting down next to him. "What are you doing out here?"

"Oh, just thinking…"

"About what?"

"Just what's in store for us in the future."

Mei hugged him, "I don't know what that holds for us, but as long as I'm with you, I'll be happy."

Xiang smiled. "Same here."

"Hey Xiang, do you think you could make another promise?"

"Anything for you."

"Okay… can we promise each other that even if anything happens, we'll always be together? As friends… as lovers… and even more than that?"

"Is that all? Of course, I'll always love you Mei."

"Me too Xiang."

"Yeah, I'll promise to always be with you and always remain forever by your side."

* * *

Well that's it! How was it? Like it? Love it? Hate it? That's it, thank you to all my readers and reviewers who have stuck to the series and don't be afraid to still review, they make me very happy. I know some of you might be sad to see the series end but don't worry, this won't be the end of my writing because I'll soon upload my new series for you to enjoy but fair warning, it might not be for everyone. Anyone, bye for now and hope you all enjoyed the story.


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